Generation of multiple ultrastable optical frequency combs from an all-fiber photonic platform

• Published in: Science advances Vol. 6; no. 13; p. eaax4457
• Main Authors: Kwon, Dohyeon, Jeon, Igju, Lee, Won-Kyu, Heo, Myoung-Sun, Kim, Jungwon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Association for the Advancement of Science 27.03.2020
• Subjects: Applied Sciences and Engineering; Optics; SciAdv r-articles
• ISSN: 2375-2548; 2375-2548
• DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax4457

Frequency-stabilized optical frequency combs have created many high-precision applications. Accurate timing, ultralow phase noise, and narrow linewidth are prerequisites for achieving the ultimate performance of comb-based systems. Ultrastable cavity-based comb-noise stabilization methods have enabled sub-10 -level frequency instability. However, these methods are complex and alignment sensitive, and their use has been mostly confined to advanced metrology laboratories. Here, we have established a simple, compact, alignment-free, and potentially low-cost all-fiber photonics-based stabilization method for generating multiple ultrastable combs. The achieved performance includes 1-femtosecond timing jitter, few times 10 -level frequency instability, and <5-hertz linewidth, rivalling those of cavity-stabilized combs. This method features flexibility in configuration: As a representative example, two combs were stabilized with 180-hertz repetition rate difference and ~1-hertz relative linewidth and could be used as an ultrastable, octave-spanning dual-comb spectroscopy source. The demonstrated method constitutes a mechanically robust and reconfigurable tool for generating multiple ultrastable combs suitable for field applications.