Optical frequency combs serve as the clockwork of optical clocks, which are now the best time-keeping systems in existence. The use of precise optical time and frequency technology in various applications beyond the research lab remains a significant challenge, but one that integrated microresonator technology is poised to address. Here, we report a silicon-chip-based microresonator comb optical clock that converts an optical frequency reference to a microwave signal. A comb spectrum with a 25 THz span is generated with a 2 mm diameter silica disk and broadening in nonlinear fiber. This spectrum is stabilized to rubidium frequency references separated by 3.5 THz by controlling two teeth 108 modes apart. The optical clock's output is the electronically countable 33 GHz microcomb line spacing, which features stability better than the rubidium transitions by the expected factor of 108. Our work demonstrates the comprehensive set of tools needed for interfacing microcombs to state-of-the-art optical clocks.
Phase and coherence of optical microresonator frequency combs
William Loh,
Pascal Del'Haye,
Scott B. Papp,
Scott A. Diddams
We use a combination of theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and experimental measurement to investigate the near-threshold phase and coherence properties of parametric optical frequency combs generated in low-loss dielectric microresonators. Our analysis reveals that near threshold the phases of the comb lines do not stabilize to a constant value across the spectrum, although well-defined phase relationships relative to the pump laser do exist. Our results are supported by numerical simulations of two different microresonator combs operated under varying conditions of input drive, dispersion, and detuning. These results are also experimentally confirmed through phase measurements of the individual comb lines. We also investigate the processes leading to the breakdown of the equidistant frequency spacing of the modes in a microresonator comb.
Self-Injection Locking and Phase-Locked States in Microresonator-Based Optical Frequency Combs
Pascal Del'Haye,
Katja Beha,
Scott B. Papp,
Scott A. Diddams
Microresonator-based optical frequency combs have been a topic of extensive research during the last few years. Several theoretical models for the comb generation have been proposed; however, they do not comprehensively address experimental results that show a variety of independent comb generation mechanisms. Here, we present frequency-domain experiments that illuminate the transition of microcombs into phase-locked states, which show characteristics of injection locking between ensembles of comb modes. In addition, we demonstrate the existence of equidistant optical frequency combs that are phase stable but have nondeterministic phase relationships between individual comb modes.
