Abstract Optical frequency comb is an enabling technology for a multitude of applications from metrology to ranging and communications. The tremendous progress in sources of optical frequency combs has mostly been centered around the near-infrared spectral region, while many applications demand sources in the visible and mid-infrared, which have so far been challenging to achieve, especially in nanophotonics. Here, we report widely tunable frequency comb generation using optical parametric oscillators in lithium niobate nanophotonics. We demonstrate sub-picosecond frequency combs tunable beyond an octave extending from 1.5 up to 3.3 μm with femtojoule-level thresholds on a single chip. We utilize the up-conversion of the infrared combs to generate visible frequency combs reaching 620 nm on the same chip. The ultra-broadband tunability and visible-to-mid-infrared spectral coverage of our source highlight a practical and universal path for the realization of efficient frequency comb sources in nanophotonics, overcoming their spectral sparsity.
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Multi-harmonic near-infrared–ultraviolet dual-comb spectrometer
Dual-comb spectroscopy in the ultraviolet (UV) and visible would enable broad bandwidth electronic spectroscopy with unprecedented frequency resolution. However, there are significant challenges in generation, detection, and processing of dual-comb data that have restricted its progress in this spectral region. In this work, we leverage robust 1550 nm few-cycle pulses to generate frequency combs in the UV–visible. We combine these combs with a wavelength multiplexed dual-comb spectrometer and simultaneously retrieve 100 MHz comb-mode-resolved spectra over three distinct harmonics at 386, 500, and 760 nm. The experiments highlight the path to continuous dual-comb coverage spanning 200–750 nm, offering extensive access to electronic transitions in atoms, molecules, and solids.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2016244
- PAR ID:
- 10508185
- Publisher / Repository:
- Optica Publishing
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Optics Letters
- Volume:
- 49
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 0146-9592
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1684
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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