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1. All-Optical Kerr Synchronization of a Dissipative Kerr Soliton Microcomb to an Optical Reference

   Grégory Moille, Jordan Stone ( January 2023 , Nonlinear Optics 2023)

   We demonstrate Kerr-mediated all-optical synchronization of a dissipative Kerr solition with an external master laser in a single microring resonator. It enables passive frequency division for optical clock metrology applications. 

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2. Monostable dissipative Kerr solitons

   https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.441165  

   Tsao, Eugene ; Xie, Yijun ; Nie, Mingming ; Huang, Shu-Wei ( December 2021 , Optics Letters)

   Kerr microcombs hold the promise of bringing frequency combs onto the chip and into a variety of applications requiring low size, weight, power, and cost. However, reliable Kerr microcomb generation is hindered by the thermal effect and multistability of dissipative Kerr solitons (DKSs). Past approaches toward Kerr microcomb reliability include either deterministic single-soliton generation or self-starting soliton behavior but not both. Here we describe a regime of DKSs that isbothdeterministic and self-starting, in which only a single soliton can stably exist. We term this new DKS regime “monostable DKSs” (MS-DKSs) as all other optical behaviors, such as continuous-wave-only and multiple solitons, are fundamentally forbidden by the design. We establish a graphical model to describe MS-DKSs and discuss the design principles of MS-DKSs. We numerically demonstrate the MS-DKS behavior in an example periodically poled lithium niobate microring resonator.

    

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3. Monolithic Kerr and electro-optic hybrid microcombs

   https://doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.462055  

   Gong, Zheng ; Shen, Mohan ; Lu, Juanjuan ; Surya, Joshua_B ; Tang, Hong_X ( September 2022 , Optica)

   Microresonator-based soliton generation promises chip-scale integration of optical frequency combs for applications spanning from time keeping to frequency synthesis. Access to the soliton repetition rate is a prerequisite for those applications. While miniaturized cavities harness Kerr nonlinearity and enable terahertz soliton repetition rates, such high rates are not amenable to direct electronic detection. Here, we demonstrate hybrid Kerr and electro-optic microcombs using a lithium niobate thin film that exhibits both Kerr and Pockels nonlinearities. By interleaving the high-repetition-rate Kerr soliton comb with the low-repetition-rate electro-optic comb on the same waveguide, wide Kerr soliton mode spacing is divided within a single chip, allowing for direct electronic detection and feedback control of the soliton repetition rate. Our work establishes an integrated approach to electronically access terahertz solitons, paving the way for building chip-scale referenced comb sources.

    

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4. Soliton bursts and deterministic dissipative Kerr soliton generation in auxiliary-assisted microcavities

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-019-0161-y  

   Zhou, Heng ; Geng, Yong ; Cui, Wenwen ; Huang, Shu-Wei ; Zhou, Qiang ; Qiu, Kun ; Wei Wong, Chee ( May 2019 , Light: Science & Applications)

   Dissipative Kerr solitons in resonant frequency combs offer a promising route for ultrafast mode-locking, precision spectroscopy and time-frequency standards. The dynamics for the dissipative soliton generation, however, are intrinsically intertwined with thermal nonlinearities, limiting the soliton generation parameter map and statistical success probabilities of the solitary state. Here, via use of an auxiliary laser heating approach to suppress thermal dragging dynamics in dissipative soliton comb formation, we demonstrate stable Kerr soliton singlet formation and soliton bursts. First, we access a new soliton existence range with an inverse-sloped Kerr soliton evolution—diminishing soliton energy with increasing pump detuning. Second, we achieve deterministic transitions from Turing-like comb patterns directly into the dissipative Kerr soliton singlet pulse bypassing the chaotic states. This is achieved by avoiding subcomb overlaps at lower pump power, with near-identical singlet soliton comb generation over twenty instances. Third, with the red-detuned pump entrance route enabled, we uncover unique spontaneous soliton bursts in the direct formation of low-noise optical frequency combs from continuum background noise. The burst dynamics are due to the rapid entry and mutual attraction of the pump laser into the cavity mode, aided by the auxiliary laser and matching well with our numerical simulations. Enabled by the auxiliary-assisted frequency comb dynamics, we demonstrate an application of automatic soliton comb recovery and long-term stabilization against strong external perturbations. Our findings hold potential to expand the parameter space for ultrafast nonlinear dynamics and precision optical frequency comb stabilization.

    

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5. Origin, bifurcation structure and stability of localized states in Kerr dispersive optical cavities

   https://doi.org/10.1093/imamat/hxab031  

   Parra-Rivas, P ; Knobloch, E ; Gelens, L ; Gomila, D ( August 2021 , IMA Journal of Applied Mathematics)

   Abstract Localized coherent structures can form in externally driven dispersive optical cavities with a Kerr-type non-linearity. Such systems are described by the Lugiato–Lefever (LL) equation, which supports a large variety of dynamical states. Here, we review our current knowledge of the formation, stability and bifurcation structure of localized structures in the one-dimensional LL equation. We do so by focusing on two main regimes of operation: anomalous and normal second-order dispersion. In the anomalous regime, localized patterns are organized in a homoclinic snaking scenario, which is eventually destroyed, leading to a foliated snaking bifurcation structure. In the normal regime, localized structures undergo a different type of bifurcation structure, known as collapsed snaking. The effects of third-order dispersion and various dynamical regimes are also described. 

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