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Mode-locked dark pulse Kerr combs in normal-dispersion microresonators

Nature Photonics volume 9, pages 594–600 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

The generation of Kerr frequency combs in a coherently driven nonlinear microresonator is now extensively investigated more generally by the research community as a potentially portable technology for a variety of applications. Here, we report experiments in which dark pulse combs are formed in normal-dispersion microresonators with mode-interaction-assisted excitation, and mode-locking transitions are observed in the normal-dispersion regime. The mode-interaction-aided excitation of dark pulses appears to occur through a deterministic pathway, in sharp contrast to the situation for bright pulses in the anomalous dispersion region. The ability to mode-lock in the normal-dispersion regime increases the freedom in the microresonator design and may make it possible to extend Kerr comb generation into the visible, where material dispersion is likely to dominate.

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Figure 1: Comb generation with a normal-dispersion SiN microring.
Figure 2: Comb characterization through line-by-line shaping.
Figure 3: Drop-port investigation of normal-dispersion combs.
Figure 4: Self-referenced cross-correlation of the dark pulse combs.
Figure 5: Simulation of dark pulse excitation for the microring in Fig. 3a .

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grants ECCS-1102110 and ECCS-1126314, by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under grant FA9550-12-1-0236 and by the DARPA PULSE program through grant W31P40-13-1-0018 from AMRDEC. The authors thank C.R. Menyuk and G. D'Aguanno for discussions and the reviewers for their comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, 465 Northwestern Avenue, West Lafayette, 47907-2035, Indiana, USA

    Xiaoxiao Xue, Yi Xuan, Yang Liu, Pei-Hsun Wang, Steven Chen, Jian Wang, Dan E. Leaird, Minghao Qi & Andrew M. Weiner

  2. Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, 1205 West State Street, West Lafayette, 47907, Indiana, USA

    Yi Xuan, Jian Wang, Minghao Qi & Andrew M. Weiner

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  1. Xiaoxiao Xue
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Contributions

X.X. led the experiments, with assistance from Y.L., P.H.W., S.C., J.W. and D.E.L. X.X. analysed the data and performed the numerical simulations. X.X. and Y.X. designed the SiN microring layout with assistance from P.H.W. and J.W. Y.X. fabricated the microring. X.X. and A.M.W. wrote the manuscript. The project was organized and coordinated by A.M.W. and M.Q.

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Correspondence to Andrew M. Weiner.

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Xue, X., Xuan, Y., Liu, Y. et al. Mode-locked dark pulse Kerr combs in normal-dispersion microresonators. Nature Photon 9, 594–600 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2015.137

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