Abstract
The formation of dissipative Kerr solitons in optical microresonators enables fully coherent optical frequency combs with microwave repetition rates. Of particular interest is the single soliton state that exhibits a spectrally smooth sech2 profile imperative for applications such as coherent optical communications, coherent receivers and dual-comb spectroscopy. However, the generation process of such comb sources remains challenging and non-deterministic. In our work [1], we discovered a simple mechanism that deterministically switches the soliton state, allowing for the generation of single-soliton-based frequency combs. We demonstrated this control in both Si 3 N 4 and MgF 2 microresonators. Moreover, we observed a double-resonance feature in system's response to a pump modulation, an effect uniquely associated with the soliton regime. Our measurements provide insight into the soliton dynamics and reveal the physical mechanism of the soliton switching. The technique provides a method to monitor and stabilize the frequency comb state, in particular allowing for feedback stabilization of the single soliton state [2], which is necessary for applications.
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