Fiber-based Optical Frequency Comb Research Articles

Multi-branch erbium fiber-based femtosecond optical frequency comb for measurement of cavity ring-down spectroscopy

<sec>In this paper, we demonstrate an optical frequency comb (OFC) based on an erbium-doped-fiber femtosecond laser, for the measurement of cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) with wavelengths of 1064, 1083, 1240, 1380, 1500, 1600, 1750 and 2100 nm. We adopt a multi-branch structure to produce high power at the specific wavelengths to meet the requirement for application in the spectral measurement. The OFC is developed by using a mode-locked fiber ring laser based on the nonlinear amplifying loop mirror mechanism. The laser is self-starting by introducing a nonreciprocal phase bias in the cavity and insensitive to the environmental perturbation. Using the chirped pulse amplification and highly nonlinear fibers, the broad spectra at the specific wavelengths are obtained. By optimizing the parameters of the pulses, the power of per mode at each target wavelength is greater than 300 nW.</sec><sec>The<i> </i><i>f</i><sub>rep</sub> is obtained by detecting the output of the femtosecond laser directly, while the<i> </i><i>f</i><sub>ceo</sub> is detected by <i>f</i>-2<i>f</i> interference. The signal-to-noise ratio of the<i> </i><i>f</i><sub>ceo</sub> is about 35 dB with a 300-kHz resolution bandwidth. By controlling the intra-cavity electro-optic modulator and piezoactuator , the <i>f</i><sub>rep</sub> is stabilized with high bandwidth and large range (about megahertz bandwidth and 3 kHz range). The <i>f</i><sub>ceo</sub> is stabilized by using feedback to the pump current of the femtosecond laser dynamically. The in-loop frequency instability degree of the <i>f</i><sub>ceo</sub>, evaluated by the Allan deviation, is approximately 4.95 × 10<sup>–18</sup>/<i>τ</i><sup>1/2</sup> at 1 s and integrates down to 10<sup>–20</sup> level after 2000 s, while that of the <i>f</i><sub>rep</sub> is well below 5.85 × 10<sup>–13</sup>/<i>τ</i>. The all polarization-maintaining erbium fiber-based femtosecond optical frequency comb with multi-application branches we demonstrate in this paper is efficient and reliable for many other applications including optical frequency metrology and optical atomic clocks.</sec>

All polarization-maintaining Er:fiber-based optical frequency comb for frequency comparison of optical clocks

We demonstrate an optical frequency comb (OFC) based on a turnkey mode-locked laser with a figure-9-shape structure and polarization-maintaining fibers, for the comparison of frequency among optical clocks with wavelengths of 698 nm, 729 nm, 1068 nm, and 1156 nm. We adopt a multi-branch approach in order to produce high power OFC signals at these specific wavelengths, enabling the signal-to-noise ratio of the beatnotes between the OFC and the clock lasers to exceed 30 dB at a resolution bandwidth of 300 kHz. This approach makes the supercontinuum spectra much easier to be generated than a single branch OFC. However, more out-of-loop fibers degrade the long-term frequency instability due to thermal drift. To minimize the thermal drift effect, we set the fiber lengths of different branches to be similar, and we stabilize the temperature as well. The out-of-loop frequency instability of the OFC due to the incoherence of the multi-branch is about 5.5 × 10−19 for 4000 s, while the in-loop frequency instability of f ceo and that of f beat are 7.5 × 10−18 for 1 s and 8.5 × 10−18 for 1 s, respectively. The turnkey OFC meets the requirement for the comparison of frequency between the best optical clocks.

Er:fiber-based femtosecond frequency comb stabilized to an Yb+ single-ion optical frequency standard

An erbium fiber-based femtosecond optical frequency comb stabilized to an Yb+ single-ion optical frequency standard was created. For the first time, a combination of an extra-cavity acousto-optic frequency modulator with fiber outputs and an intracavity electro-optic phase modulator based on a KTP crystal were used to stabilize offset frequency and one of the optical components of the Er:fiber femtosecond comb. As a result a locking bandwidth of 30 kHz for the optical comb offset frequency has been obtained. It is shown that the relative instability introduced by the stabilization and measurement systems into the output radio frequencies (in addition to the instability of the reference optical signal) is no worse than 5 × 10−14 for averaging times of 1 s and 2 × 10−16 for averaging times of 400 s.

Fiber-based optical frequency comb at 3.3 µm for broadband spectroscopy of hydrocarbons [Invited

A 125 MHz fiber-based frequency comb source in the mid-infrared wavelength region is presented. The source is based on difference frequency generation from a polarization-maintaining Er-doped fiber pump laser and covers a spectrum between 2900 cm−1 and 3400 cm−1 with a simultaneous bandwidth of 170 cm−1 and an average output power up to 70 mW. The source is equipped with actuators and active feedback loops, ensuring long-term stability of the repetition rate, output power, and spectral envelope. An absorption spectrum of ethane and methane was measured using a Fourier transform spectrometer to verify the applicability of the mid-infrared comb to multispecies detection. The robustness and good long- and short-term stability of the source make it suitable for optical frequency comb spectroscopy of hydrocarbons.

Frequency measurement on the 5s5p P23−5s4d D33 transition of Sr88 atoms using the photon-momentum-transfer technique

We report a frequency measurement on the $5s5p\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}^{3}P_{2}\ensuremath{-}5s4d\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}^{3}D_{3}$ transition of $^{88}\mathrm{Sr}$ atoms at $2.9\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$. The excitation spectra are obtained by measuring the photon momenta transferred to ultracold atoms. The transition frequency is determined to be 102 550 196 205(9) kHz using an erbium fiber-based optical frequency comb. We numerically investigate possible frequency corrections by taking an acceleration of atoms and attenuation of the excitation light into account. This measurement technique is particularly useful for transitions where laser-induced fluorescence is difficult to observe but the spatial imaging of atoms is possible.

Refractive index sensing with temperature compensation by a multimode-interference fiber-based optical frequency comb sensing cavity.

We proposed a refractive index (RI) sensing method with temperature compensation by using an optical frequency comb (OFC) sensing cavity including a multimode-interference (MMI) fiber, namely, the MMI-OFC sensing cavity. The MMI-OFC sensing cavity enables simultaneous measurement of material-dependent RI and sample temperature by decoding from the comb spacing frequency shift and the wavelength shift of the OFC. We realized the simultaneous and continuous measurement of RI-related concentration of a liquid sample and its temperature with precisions of 1.6 × 10-4 RIU and 0.08 °C. The proposed method would be a useful means for the various applications based on RI sensing.

Control of Kerr-microresonator optical frequency comb by a dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder interferometer

A technique to integrate key functions of a Kerr-microresonator optical frequency comb into one device, i.e., a dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder interferometer (DP-MZI), is proposed. In the technique, a DP-MZI enables the control of carrier envelope offset frequency (fceo), as well as repetition frequency (frep), in addition to generating a stable dissipative Kerr soliton. In experiments, influences on fceo and frep by pump frequency and power modulation via a DP-MZI are investigated, followed by a demonstration of long-term full stabilization of a microresonator soliton comb to a fiber-based optical frequency comb. As another example demonstration, timing jitter of a microresonator soliton comb is significantly suppressed by referencing to a fiber through a two-wavelength delayed self-heterodyne interferometer (TWDI).

Improving the accuracy of a dual-comb interferometer by suppressing the relative linewidth

We present a compact system of synchronization for two fiber-based optical frequency comb lasers. We use a free-running continuous wave laser as an intermediary to obtain the relative noise of two combs and employ an intra-cavity electro-optic modulator (EOM) to achieve active phase feedback for fast synchronization. The EOM bandwidth is 150 kHz and the relative linewidth is suppressed markedly from 300 kHz to sub-hertz values. The relative effective timing jitter of the two pulse trains is also decreased from 680 fs to 25 fs. The proposed method shows promise for developing a high-performance, low-cost, fiber-based dual-comb interferometer for ranging or spectroscopy.

Mode-filtering technique based on all-fiber-based external cavity for fiber-based optical frequency comb.

We developed a mode-filtering technique based on the all-fiber-based external cavity for a fiber-based optical frequency comb for high repetition rate (frep) frequency comb, and the carrier envelope offset frequency (fceo) can be detected and stabilized and is robust to environmental fluctuations. To achieve multiplication of the frep with a high multiplication factor using the fiber ring cavity, a long fiber was developed to mitigate the physical limitation inhibiting the shortening of the cavity length. In this study, the length of the fiber cavity was set to 6.7 m (free spectral range = 44.7 MHz) as the fiber-based comb length was 6.1 m. We were able to demonstrate a multiplication factor of 11, i.e., frep increased from 48.7 MHz to 536.0 MHz with a side mode suppression ratio of about 25 dB using the double-pass configuration.

Optical frequency synthesizer for precision spectroscopy of Rydberg states of Rb atoms

We have developed an optical frequency synthesizer for the precision spectroscopy of highly excited Rydberg states of Rb atoms. This synthesizer can generate a widely tunable 480 nm laser light with an optical power of 150 mW and an absolute frequency uncertainty of less than 100 kHz using a high-repetition-rate (325 MHz) Er fiber-based optical frequency comb and a tunable frequency-doubled diode laser at 960 nm. We demonstrate the precision two-photon spectroscopy of the Rydberg states of 87Rb atoms by observing the electromagnetically induced transparency in a vapor cell, and measure the absolute transition frequencies of 87Rb to nD (n = 53–92) and nS (n = 60–90) Rydberg states with an uncertainty of less than 250 kHz. It is the first direct frequency measurements of these transitions using an optical frequency comb.

Fiber-based femtosecond optical frequency comb stabilized to iodine frequency standard

A fiber-based femtosecond optical frequency comb spanning wavelengths from 1 to 2 μm was stabilized precisely to an iodine frequency standard by means of heterodyne optical phase-locked loops. It enables transfer of frequency stability across electromagnetic spectrum and implementation of compact optical clocks with ∼10-15 long-term instability.

Polarization dependence of the direct two photon transitions of 87Rb atoms by erbium: Fiber laser frequency comb

The femtosecond fiber-based optical frequency combs have been proved to be powerful tools for investigating the energy levels of atoms and molecules. In this paper, an Er-doped fiber femtosecond optical frequency comb has been implemented for studying the polarization dependence of 5S–5D two-photon transitions in thermal gas of atomic rubidium 87 using an entirely symmetrical optical configuration. By changing the polarization states of the counter-propagating light beams, the polarization dependence of direct two photon transition spectrum is demonstrated, and a dramatic variation (up to 5.5 times) of the two-photon transitions strength has been observed. The theory for the polarization dependence of two photon transition based on the second-order perturbation was established, which is in good agreement with the experimental results. The measurement results indicate that the polarization state manipulation with the existing frequency comb is used for femtosecond optical frequency comb based two photon transition spectroscopic purposes, which will improve the precision measurement of the absolute transition frequency and related applications.

Dual-frequency comb generation with differing GHz repetition rates by parallel Fabry–Perot cavity filtering of a single broadband frequency comb source

We present a dual-comb-generator based on a coupled Fabry–Perot filtering cavity doublet and a single seed laser source. By filtering a commercial erbium-doped fiber-based optical frequency comb with CEO-stabilisation and 250 MHz repetition rate, two broadband coherent combs of different repetition rates in the GHz range are generated. The filtering doublet consists of two Fabry–Perot cavities with a tunable spacing and Pound–Drever–Hall stabilisation scheme. As a prerequisite for the development of such a filtering unit, we present a method to determine the actual free spectral range and transmission bandwidth of a Fabry–Perot cavity in situ. The transmitted beat signal of two diode lasers is measured as a function of their tunable frequency difference. Finally, the filtering performance and resulting beat signals of the heterodyned combs are discussed as well as the optimisation measures of the whole system.

Precision Frequency Measurement of 87Rb 5S1/2 (F = 2)→5D5/2 (F″ = 4) Two-Photon Transition through a Fiber-Based Optical Frequency Comb**Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 61405002, 91336103, 10934010, 61535001 and 61078026.

The absolute frequency of 87Rb 5S1/2 (F = 2)→5D5/2 (F″ = 4) two-photon transition at 778nm is measured in an accuracy of 44 kHz. A home-made erbium-doped fiber laser frequency comb with frequency stability of 5.0 × 10−13@1 s is employed for the light source. By using a periodically poled lithium niobate, the femtosecond pulse operating in 1556nm is frequency-doubled to 778nm to obtain the direct two-photon transition spectroscopy of thermal rubidium vapor. Through sweeping the carrier envelope offset frequency (fceo), the 5S1/2 (F = 2)→5D5/2 (F″ = 4) two-photon transition line is clearly resolved and its absolute frequency is determined via the peak-finding of the fitting curve. After the frequency correction, the measured result agrees well with the previous experiment on this transition. The entire system configuration is compact and robust, providing a potential candidate of optical frequency standard for telecommunication applications.

Absolute frequency measurements and hyperfine structures of the molecular iodine transitions at 578 nm

We report absolute frequency measurements of 81 hyperfine components of the rovibrational transitions of molecular iodine at 578 nm using the second harmonic generation of an 1156-nm external-cavity diode laser and a fiber-based optical frequency comb. The relative uncertainties of the measured absolute frequencies are typically $1.4\times10^{-11}$. Accurate hyperfine constants of four rovibrational transitions are obtained by fitting the measured hyperfine splittings to a four-term effective Hamiltonian including the electric quadrupole, spin-rotation, tensor spin-spin, and scalar spin-spin interactions. The observed transitions can be good frequency references at 578 nm, and are especially useful for research using atomic ytterbium since the transitions are close to the $^{1}S_{0}-^{3}P_{0}$ clock transition of ytterbium.

All polarization-maintaining Er fiber-based optical frequency combs with nonlinear amplifying loop mirror.

A fully stabilized all polarization-maintaining Er frequency comb with a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror with below 0.2 rad carrier-envelope-offset frequency phase noise is demonstrated. The integrated timing jitter is measured as 40 attosecond from 10 kHz to 10 MHz, which is the lowest value of any Er fiber frequency comb to date.

Attosecond-Resolution Er:Fiber-Based Optical Frequency Comb**Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 91336101 and 61127901, and the West Light Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences under Grant No 2013ZD02.

Highly stable frequency-controlled optical frequency combs are key elements of many applications in time-frequency and optical-metrology domains. In this work, we demonstrate a highly stable frequency-controlled erbium-fiber-based optical frequency comb system. Its repetition rate is phase-stabilized to a continuous-wave laser with both an intra-cavity electro-optic modulator and a piezo-transducer; while the carrier-envelope-offset frequency is phase-locked to a radio-frequency signal generator by controlling the pump power. In-loop relative frequency stabilities of the comb are below 1 × 10−16 at 1 s, and integrate down to low 10−20 level at 104 s. The corresponding timing uncertainties are 100–200 as over the full measurement range.

Ultra-low noise all polarization-maintaining Er fiber-based optical frequency combs facilitated with a graphene modulator

High bandwidth carrier phase and repetition rate control are critical for the construction of low phase noise optical frequency combs. Here we demonstrate the use of a graphene modulator for the former and a bulk electro-optic modulator for the latter enabling record low phase noise operation of an Er fiber frequency comb. For applications that do not require carrier phase control, we show that the form factor of a fiber comb can be reduced by adapting a graphene modulator for rapid repetition rate control. Moreover, the whole system demonstration is performed with all-polarization maintaining Er fiber frequency combs, highly suitable for applications in the field.

Environmental-adaptability analysis of an all polarization-maintaining fiber-based optical frequency comb.

We demonstrate an all polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber-based optical frequency comb and provide the detailed environmental stability analysis results. The frequency comb has been built by commercial available PM fiber completely, and its static uncertainty in optical domain is 350 Hz in 1 s when referenced to a low noise oven controlled crystal oscillator. The acoustic resonant frequencies of the system have been measured. It is proved that acoustic-vibration induced phase noise could be eliminated by low pass vibration-isolation structure. Further, the existence of the optimum working temperature is illustrated. At this temperature (289.6 K), the out-loop integrated phase noise of f(r) and the temperature-drift induced instability of f(CEO) reach the lowest level 31.6 μrad and 0 kHz/(mW∙K) respectively. Finally, the system is proved to be stable under different humidity (18% ~80%) by a 240-day-long record of the f(CEO).

Optical amplification and pulse interleaving for low-noise photonic microwave generation

We investigate the impact of pulse interleaving and optical amplification on the spectral purity of microwave signals generated by photodetecting the pulsed output of an Er:fiber-based optical frequency comb. It is shown that the microwave phase noise floor can be extremely sensitive to delay length errors in the interleaver, and the contribution of the quantum noise from optical amplification to the phase noise can be reduced ∼10 dB for short pulse detection. We exploit optical amplification, in conjunction with high power handling modified unitraveling carrier photodetectors, to generate a phase noise floor on a 10GHz carrier of -175 dBc/Hz, the lowest ever demonstrated in the photodetection of a mode-locked fiber laser. At all offset frequencies, the photodetected 10GHz phase noise performance is comparable to or better than the lowest phase noise results yet demonstrated with stabilized Ti:sapphire frequency combs.