Microcombs Based on Laser Cavity Solitons
Résumé
We summarize our results on the generation of temporal laser cavity-solitons in a system comprising an optical micro-cavity nested in a fiber laser. We will discuss their features, region of existence, potential and challenges ahead. Dissipative solitons are self-confined pulses which appear in driven and lossy systems when the phase dispersion is balanced by the nonlinear phase-shift. Ultrashort pulses generated by passive mode-locking lasers are a very important example of temporal dissipative solitons in optics. Temporal cavity-solitons [1,2,3] also belong to this class of pulses and have been instrumental in the development of optical frequency combs in nonlinear micro-cavities, or "micro-combs" [1]. Temporal cavity-solitons have been largely studied in a 'driven' configuration, where an external pumping source is resonantly coupled in the nonlinear micro-resonator to sustain and excite the solitary pulses. More recently, we demonstrated that it is possible to generate localised pulses in a configuration where the micro-cavity is inserted in a fiber laser loop, as described in Figure 1. In particular, we reported the observation of laser cavity-solitons [4], which have previously attracted large attention especially in spatial configurations, such as in semiconductor lasers [5]. By merging their properties with the physics of both micro-resonators and multi-mode systems, this scheme represents a fundamentally new paradigm for the generation, stabilisation and control of solitary optical pulses in micro-cavities. Fig. 1. Scheme of the nested, travelling-wave cavities configuration: a Kerr micro-resonator (green loop) is nested in an amplifying fibre-loop (black). The amplifying cavity comprises a gain fibre (erbium-ytterbium doped amplifier, EYDFA), a tuneable delay line with optical couplers (OC), polarising beam splitter (PBS), polarisation control and a band-pass filter (BPF). The output of the laser is monitored with an optical spectrum analyser (OSA), a second-harmonic non-collinear autocorrelator and an oscilloscope to measure the radio-frequency noise of the system. © 2 0 2 0 T h e Au t h o r (s)
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)