1. Kerr optical frequency comb generation using whispering-gallery-mode resonators in the pulsed-pump regime
- Author
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Yanne K. Chembo, Cyril Billet, Thomas Daugey, John M. Dudley, Jean-Marc Merolla, Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174) (FEMTO-ST), Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques (ENSMM)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and University of Maryland (Institute for systems research)
- Subjects
Physics ,[PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-OPTICS]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Optics [physics.optics] ,business.industry ,Physics::Optics ,Soliton (optics) ,Laser ,01 natural sciences ,010305 fluids & plasmas ,law.invention ,Resonator ,Wavelength ,Optics ,law ,0103 physical sciences ,Pulse wave ,Nonlinear element ,Whispering-gallery wave ,010306 general physics ,business ,Ultrashort pulse - Abstract
International audience; Kerr comb generation is usually based on the nonlinear dynamics of the intracavity field in a whispering-gallery-mode resonator pumped by a continuous-wave laser. However, using a pulsed instead of a continuous-wave pump opens an alternative research avenue from both the theoretical and experimental viewpoints, as it permits us to tailor the spectral properties of ultrashort pulse trains with a single passive nonlinear element. In this article we study the dynamics of Kerr optical frequency combs when the whispering-gallery-mode resonator is pumped by a synchronous pulse train. We propose a model that is based on an extension of the Lugiato-Lefever equation, which accounts for both the pulsed nature of the pump and the mismatch between the free-spectral range of the resonator and the repetition rate of the pulse train. We lay a particular emphasis on the effect of pump-cavity desynchronization on the spectral shape of the output combs. The numerical simulations are successfully compared with experimental measurements where the optical pulses are generated via time-lens soliton compression, and the resonator is a millimeter-size magnesium fluoride resonator with a billion quality factor at the pump wavelength.
- Published
- 2021