Tunable Comb Research Articles

“等离激元新效应与应用”专题 前言

“等离激元新效应与应用”专题 前言

Widely tunable cavity-enhanced ultrafast spectroscopy

Generation of widely tunable frequency combs in the UV, visible, and infrared is discussed for use in cavity-enhanced transient absorption spectroscopy on gas-phase clusters. Progress towards cavity-enhanced two-dimensional spectroscopy is also presented.

Tunable and Switchable Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser Using a Multimode-Fiber Based Filter

We demonstrated a compact tunable and switchable single/dual-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser. The fiber laser can be tuned and switched from single-wavelength to dual-wavelength oscillation by using our recently proposed tunable comb filter. The comb filter consists of a section of multimode fiber (MMF) coiled into a polarization controller and two sections of single mode fibers (SMFs) to form a SMF/MMF/SMF structure, serving as a simple tunable all-fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Due to the insertion of the MMF-based polarization controller (PC), an additional phase shift is introduced from the difference of the birefringence intensity in different dominant modes, which can be used to tune the fiber laser. In the experiment, by properly adjusting the PC, a tuning range of 9.3 nm can be achieved for the single-wavelength operation. Moreover, dual-wavelength operation with different free-spectral-ranges can be obtained. The tunable and switchable fiber lasers are of great importance for their applications in optical testing, optical fiber sensing, and signal processing.

Tunable microwave frequency comb generation based on double-loop mixing-frequency optoelectronic oscillator

With the development of wireless communication technology and micro-cell technology, optical-borne microwave technology, specially optical-borne multi-carrier technology has become one of the most important trends for generating high-quality sources. Therefore, the efficient generation of high-quality microwave signals has always been a requirement in wireless communication systems. Due to its low-noise and high-frequency output characteristics, photoelectric oscillator is widely used to generate high-quality microwave frequency sources in communication systems. Combining the advantages of photoelectric oscillator's low-noise output and direct-modulated laser's gain-switching state characteristics, a tunable optical-borne microwave frequency comb scheme based on dual-loop mixing-frequency photoelectric oscillator is proposed in this paper. And a direct-modulated laser operating in a gain-switching state is used to generate the original optical-borne microwave frequency comb signals. The dual-loop adjacent resonant frequencies are separated by two different high-frequency microwave bandpass filters. The beat frequency of adjacent frequencies mentioned above is injected back into laser to form photoelectric resonance, and thus enhancing the generated original optical-borne microwave frequency comb signals. To suppress the side modes caused by long resonant cavity, a polarized dual-loop structure is used in the system, and thus improving the noise characteristics of output signals. After experimental analysis, the dual-loop filtered resonant microwave signals and low-phase-noise microwave comb signals with a frequency interval of 797.4 MHz are all obtained. The microwave output side-mode suppression ratio after polarized dual-loop adjustment is improved to 47 dB. And microwave comb signal's first-order carrier phase noise is lower than-101.7 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz,-115.2 dBc/Hz at 50 kHz. In addition, higher-order carriers all come from the light multiplication of first-order carrier, they share the same low noise characteristics with first-order microwave comb signal. The output power of first-to-fourth, fifth-to-thirteenth order carriers are balanced to 10 dB by photoelectric resonance injection. And their side-mode suppression ratios are all better than 40 dB. Furthermore, theoretically, the comb interval can be adjusted to any frequencies by changing the center frequencies of two high-frequency bandpass microwave filters. Therefore, optical-borne multi-carrier microwave signals are generated efficiently and cost-effectively by this tunable optical-borne microwave frequency comb scheme, and the generated low-noise multi-carrier frequency sources meet the demand of an optical-borne microwave wireless communication system.

Observation of gain spiking of optical frequency comb in a microcavity.

Optical frequency combs are crucial for both fundamental science and applications that demand a wide frequency range and ultra-high resolution. Recent advances in optical frequency combs based on the nonlinear Kerr effect in microcavities have opened up new opportunities with such compact platforms. Although optical frequency combs have previously been well studied in the steady state, some fundamental perspectives such as nonlinear phase modulation during comb generations are yet explored. Here we demonstrate transient nonlinear dynamics during the formation of optical frequency combs inside a Kerr microcavity. We show that gain spiking forms due to nonlinear phase modulation causing comb lines' self-detuning from nearby cavity resonances, which provides one key mechanism to stabilize optical frequency combs. Moreover, we have observed nonlinear beating by injecting an external probe to examine nonlinear cross-phase modulation between comb lines. These nonlinear dynamics reveal the hidden features of self-stabilization and cross modulation during transient comb generations, which may enable new applications in mode-locking comb and tunable comb generation in microcavities.

Optical arbitrary waveform generation based on multi-wavelength semiconductor fiber ring laser

A new scheme of generating optical arbitrary waveforms based on multi-wavelength semiconductor fiber ring laser (SFRL) is proposed. In this novel scheme, a wide and flat optical frequency comb (OFC) is provided directly by multi-wavelength SFRL, whose central frequency and comb spacing are tunable. OFC generation, de-multiplexing, amplitude and phase modulation, and multiplexing are implementing in an intensity and phase tunable comb filter, as induces the merits of high spectral coherence, satisfactory waveform control and low system loss. By using the mode couple theory and the transfer matrix method, the theoretical model of the scheme is established. The impacts of amplitude control, phase control, number of spectral line, and injection current of semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) on the waveform similarity are studied using the theoretical model. The results show that, amplitude control and phase control error should be smaller than 1% and 0.64% respectively to achieve high similarity. The similarity of the waveform is improved with the increase of the number of spectral line. When the injection current of SOA is in a certain range, the optical arbitrary waveform reaches a high similarity.

Tunable optical frequency comb generation in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide based on stimulated Brillouin scattering

We propose and demonstrate a technique for the generation of an optical frequency comb (OFC) in a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide based on stimulated Brillouin scattering. A single continuous wave laser is sent to a multi-wavelength Brillouin erbium fibre laser for generating a set of coherent and phase-locked multi-wavelength spectral lines. They are injected into a PPLN waveguide to obtain an OFC. We investigate the influence of the cavity structure on the OFC property in our two different schemes. The number of comb lines is affected by the 980 pump current and Brillouin pump power. The OFCs are tunable in a large range by changing their central wavelength.

Electronic synthesis of light

We report on bidirectional frequency conversion between the microwave and optical domains using electro-optics. Advances in communications, time keeping, and quantum sensing have all come to depend upon the coherent interoperation of light wave and microwave signals. To connect these domains, which are separated by a factor of 10,000 in frequency, requires specialized technology that has until now only been achieved by ultrafast mode-locked lasers. In contrast, electro-optic modulation (EOM) combs arise deterministically by imposing microwave-rate oscillations on a continuous-wave laser. Here we demonstrate electro-optic generation of a 160 THz bandwidth supercontinuum and realize f-2f self-referencing. Coherence of the supercontinuum is achieved through optical filtering of electronic noise on the seed EOM comb. The mode frequencies of the supercontinuum are derived from the electronic oscillator and they achieve <5×10−14 fractional accuracy and stability, which opens a novel regime for tunable combs with wide mode spacing apart from the requirements of mode locking.

Continuously tunable polarization-independent zeroth-order fiber comb filter based on polarization-diversity loop structure

By selecting some optimal wave retarder combination (WRC) groups, we propose and experimentally implement a continuously tunable polarization-independent zeroth-order fiber comb filter based on a polarization-diversity loop structure. The selected WRC groups contain a set of two quarter-wave retarders (QWRs), a set of a QWR and a half-wave retarder (HWR), and a set of an HWR and a QWR. The filter was formed using a polarization beam splitter (PBS), one of the three selected WRC groups, and high birefringence fiber (HBF). One end of HBF was butt-coupled to the PBS so that its slow axis should be oriented at 45° for the horizontal axis of the PBS, and the other end was connected to the WRC group. Three kinds of comb filters were fabricated with the three selected WRC groups. Through theoretical analysis on light polarization conditions for continuous spectral tuning and filter transmittances, eight special azimuth angle sets of two wave retarders, which gave the transmittance function eight different phase shifts of 0 to –7π/4 with a –π/4 step, were found for each WRC group. Theoretical prediction was verified by experimental demonstration. It was also confirmed that the filter could be continuously tuned by the appropriate control of wave retarders.

A simplified tunable frequency interval optical frequency comb generator using a single continuous-wave laser

We propose and demonstrate a simplified and tunable frequency interval optical frequency comb (OFC) generator based on a dual-drive Mach-Zehnder modulator (DD-MZM) using a single continuous-wave (CW) laser and low-power radio frequency (RF) driven signal. A mathematical model for the scheme is established. The 21- and 29-mode OFCs with frequency interval ranging from 6 GHz to 40 GHz are obtained under DD-MZM driven by a low-power RF signal within a maximum bandwidth of 1.12 THz. The generated OFCs exhibit spectral flatnesses of less than 0.5 dB and 0.8 dB within bandwidths of 160 GHz and 400 GHz, respectively.

Simplified tunable fiber comb filter based on polarization-diversity loop configuration

A simple tunable fiber comb filter composed of two quarter-wave plates and a section of polarization-maintaining fiber is proposed. The states of polarization are investigated through theoretical analysis, and we present the means for continuous wavelength tunability using analytic expression. The optimal angle combination of each birefringent device could be deduced so that an arbitrary wavelength could be a channel center of the comb filter without transmission loss, which is verified experimentally.

InGaAsP/InP Microring Resonator (MRR) Waveguide Used to Generate Soliton Comb with Tunable Channel Spacing

A novel system of tunable channel spacing soliton comb generation is presented using a PANDA ring resonator incorporated with an add-drop filter system. The intense optical fields known as soliton comb can be generated. Results show that soliton comb can be generated with un-equal spaced or variable free spectral range (FSR) by using the input bright soliton pulse into the microring resonator (MRR) system. The proposed comb filter exhibits a large tuning range in channel spacing. Our simulations shows that the channel spacing can be continuously tuned form up to 10 GHz, where the centre wavelength of the input power has been selected at 50 GHz. The structure of the proposed MRR's waveguide (InGaAsP/InP) and mode propagation profile have been presented in this research.

Hitless Reconfiguration of a PPLN-Based Multiwavelength Source for Elastic Optical Networks

Elastic optical networks may significantly take advantage of reconfigurable multiwavelength sources in order to maximize spectral efficiency and throughput. A multiwavelength source based on the line multiplication process taking place in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide has been recently proposed as a generator of tunable frequency combs. This source is stable and compact with respect to fiber-based solutions and does not require high radio frequency power. A transmitter employing the multiwavelength source is implemented and characterized in the static and dynamic regime, thus demonstrating hitless reconfiguration. The source also is tested within a three-node testbed employing commercial transceiver cards.

Multi-service small-cell cloud wired/wireless access network based on tunable optical frequency comb

In this paper, we demonstrate a novel multi-service wired/wireless integrated access architecture of cloud radio access network (C-RAN) based on radio-over-fiber passive optical network (RoF-PON) system, which utilizes scalable multiple- frequency millimeter-wave (MF-MMW) generation based on tunable optical frequency comb (TOFC). In the baseband unit (BBU) pool, the generated optical comb lines are modulated into wired, RoF and WiFi/WiMAX signals, respectively. The multi-frequency RoF signals are generated by beating the optical comb line pairs in the small cell. The WiFi/WiMAX signals are demodulated after passing through the band pass filter (BPF) and band stop filter (BSF), respectively, whereas the wired signal can be received directly. The feasibility and scalability of the proposed multi-service wired/wireless integrated C-RAN are confirmed by the simulations.

Erratum to: “A full-duplex WDM-RoF system based on tunable optical frequency comb generator” [Opt. Commun. 344C (2015) 65–70

Erratum to: “A full-duplex WDM-RoF system based on tunable optical frequency comb generator” [Opt. Commun. 344C (2015) 65–70

Radio-over-fiber system with tunable millimeter-wave generation and wavelength reuse for uplink connection

We propose and demonstrate a radio-over-fiber system to generate an optical millimeter wave (MMW) and realize wavelength reuse for an uplink connection. A tunable optical comb generated by a single Fabry–Perot laser serves as the optical source. The central carrier is separated by an optical circulator cascaded with a fiber Bragg grating. For the downlink, the unmodulated central carrier is coupled with one subcarrier, which has been modulated with 2.5-Gb/s data. Then, different MMWs can be generated by choosing different subcarriers. While for the uplink, the same central carrier is reused for an uplink connection with 1.25-Gb/s data. In the scheme, a 60-GHz MMW is obtained and the bidirectional data are simultaneously transmitted over 60-km transmission with 0.5-dB power penalty. This system shows a simple cost-efficient configuration and good performance over long-distance delivery.

Tunable and ultraflat optical frequency comb generator based on cascaded intensity modulators

An optical frequency comb generator based on two-cascade intensity modulators is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. By carefully adjusting direct current biases and drive amplitudes of radio frequency signals of the two intensity modulators, the combs consisting of 3, 5, 9, 15, or 25 lines with the relative amplitude flatness within 1 dB can be generated. The scheme is relatively simple and adjustable, where the frequency spacing varies with microwave frequency applied on modulators.

Lithium-Niobate Mach-Zehnder Interferometer With Enhanced Index Contrast by SiO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; Film

An electro-optic tunable lithium-niobate (LN) waveguide Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) is designed and fabricated with the annealed proton-exchange process. The MZI consists of a straight waveguide arm and a bent waveguide arm with a SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> film deposited on the two sides. The residual stress generated by the SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> film can enhance the index contrast of the bent waveguide arm and thus reduce the bending loss of the MZI. A comparison of several experimental devices fabricated on the same chip size of 50 mm x 7 mm confirms significant reduction of the insertion loss by incorporating the SiO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> film. For our best sample, which functions as a tunable comb filter with a channel spacing of 0.75 nm in the C-band, the insertion losses of the two output ports are 13.5 and 6 dB, respectively, and the corresponding maximum extinction ratios are ~23 and ~1.5 dB. The device has an electrical wavelength-tuning sensitivity of -.0.2 nm/V and a temperature sensitivity of ~0.1 nm/°C. Our design approach can significantly improve the quality of LN devices that require waveguide bends.

Multifunctional tunable multiwavelength erbium-doped fiber laser based on tunable comb filter and intensity-dependent loss modulation

A multiwavelength erbium-doped fiber laser based on tunable comb spectral filter and intensity-dependent loss modulation is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The laser allows fine and multifunctional tunable operations of channel-spacing, peak-location, spectral-range, and wavelength-number. More specifically, channel-spacing switch from 0.4nm to 0.2nm and peak-location adjustment within half of free spectrum range are obtained via controlling the tunable comb filter. The wavelength-number and the spectral-range of the lasing lines can be accurately controlled by intensity-dependent loss modulation in the laser cavity, enabled by a power-symmetric nonlinear optical loop mirror. In addition, fine control over the wavelength-number at fixed spectral-range is realized by simply adjusting the pump power. More important, the tunable operation process for every type of specific parameter is individual, without influences for other output parameters. Such features of this fiber laser make it useful and convenient for the practical application.

Multi-wavelength fiber lasers operated in stretched-pulse mode-locked regimes with a very compact configuration

A novel and compact configuration for the generation of tunable multi-wavelength fiber ring lasers by exploiting the intracavity birefringence filter is demonstrated. The fiber laser is passively mode locked by using a nonlinear polarization rotation technique. A single polarization controller (PC) and a polarization-dependent isolator combined with birefringence act as a tunable comb filter and the mode locker to generate the single-wavelength ultrafast oscillation and multi-wavelength lasing by finely adjusting the PC. Multi-wavelength lasing of up to 50 lines with a wavelength spacing of 0.8 nm within a 3 dB bandwidth has been obtained. The total group velocity dispersion of the ring cavity is designed to the near-zero regime, which indicates a stretched-pulse mode-locked state.