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Electro-optical modulation of a continuous wave laser is a highly stable way to generate frequency combs, gaining popularity in telecommunication and spectroscopic applications. These combs are generated by modulating non-linear electro-optic crystals with radio frequencies, creating equally spaced side-bands centered around the single-frequency seed laser. Electro-optic frequency comb architectures often choose between optical bandwidth (cascaded GHz combs) or higher mode density (chirped RF generation). This work demonstrates an electro-optic frequency comb with > 120 GHz of bandwidth and an 80 MHz repetition rate. The comb has three cascaded electro-optic modulators driven at sequentially lower harmonics, the last megahertz modulation dictating the repetition rate. This architecture can modulate at any individual harmonic and repetition rate without changes to the components. This comb can be used in any applications where a stable and tunable repetition rate is needed.
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Resonant EO combs: beyond the standard phase noise model of frequency combs
A resonant electro-optic (EO) frequency comb is generated through electro-optic modulation of laser light within an optical resonator. Compared to cavity-less EO combs generated in a single pass through a modulator, resonant EO combs can produce broader spectra with lower radio frequency (RF) power and offer a measure of noise filtering beyond the cavity’s linewidth. Understanding, measuring, and suppressing the sources of phase noise in resonant EO combs is crucial for their applications in metrology, astrophotonics, optical clock generation, and fiber-optic communication. According to the standard phase noise model of frequency combs, only two variables—the common mode offset and repetition rate phase noise—are needed to fully describe the phase noise of comb lines. However, in this work, we demonstrate analytically, numerically, and experimentally that this standard model breaks down for resonant EO combs at short timescales (high frequencies) and under certain comb parameters. Specifically, a third phase noise component emerges. Consequently, resonant EO combs feature qualitatively different phase noise from their cavity-less counterparts and may not exhibit the anticipated noise filtering. A more complete description of the deviations from the standard phase noise model is critical to accurately predict the performance of frequency combs. The description presented here provides foundational insights for improved designs tailored to applications such as supercontinuum generation and optical communication.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2009982
- PAR ID:
- 10558806
- Publisher / Repository:
- Optical Society of America
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Optics Express
- Volume:
- 32
- Issue:
- 26
- ISSN:
- 1094-4087; OPEXFF
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: Article No. 45932
- Size(s):
- Article No. 45932
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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