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Optically referenced 300 GHz millimetre-wave oscillator

Nature Photonics volume 15, pages 516–522 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Optical frequency division via optical frequency combs has enabled a leap in microwave metrology, leading to noise performance never explored before. Extending this method to the millimetre-wave and terahertz-wave domains is of great interest. Dissipative Kerr solitons in integrated photonic chips offer the unique feature of delivering optical frequency combs with ultrahigh repetition rates from 10 GHz to 1 THz, making them relevant gears for performing optical frequency division in the millimetre-wave and terahertz-wave domains. We experimentally demonstrate the optical frequency division of an optically carried 3.6 THz reference down to 300 GHz through a dissipative Kerr soliton, photodetected with an ultrafast uni-travelling-carrier photodiode. A new measurement system, based on the characterization of a microwave reference phase locked to the 300 GHz signal under test, yields attosecond-level timing-noise sensitivity, overcoming conventional technical limitations. This work places dissipative Kerr solitons as a leading technology in the millimetre-wave and terahertz-wave field, promising breakthroughs in fundamental and civilian applications.

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Fig. 1: Coherent OFD of a 3.6 THz reference down to a photodetected 300 GHz optical pulse train.
Fig. 2: Optical phase-locked loop for synchronization of the 300 GHz pulse train to the 3.6 THz reference.
Fig. 3: Measurement methods and characterization of the spectral purity of the 300 GHz wave.
Fig. 4: Characterization of the frequency instability of the 300 GHz wave.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank N. Kuse and M. Yeo for their technical contribution at the early stage of this work and Y. Uehara for his help. We are very grateful to V. Rolland for proofreading of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IMRA America Inc., Boulder Research Lab, Longmont, CO, USA

    Tomohiro Tetsumoto & Antoine Rolland

  2. Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan

    Tadao Nagatsuma

  3. IMRA America Inc., Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Martin E. Fermann

  4. LIGENTEC, Ecublens, Switzerland

    Gabriele Navickaite & Michael Geiselmann

Authors
  1. Tomohiro Tetsumoto
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  2. Tadao Nagatsuma
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  3. Martin E. Fermann
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  4. Gabriele Navickaite
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  5. Michael Geiselmann
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  6. Antoine Rolland
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Contributions

T.T. and A.R. conceived the ideas, built, implemented and operated the experimental setup, and wrote the manuscript. T.N. provided the UTC-PD and insightful contributions on millimetre-wave technology. M.E.F. contributed to the conception of the project and the analysis of the data. T.T. designed and G.N. and M.G. fabricated the SiN microresonator. All authors contributed to the review of the manuscript. A.R. initiated and supervised the project.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antoine Rolland.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Peer review information Nature Photonics thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary Information

Supplementary Figs. 1–5, Sections 1–5.

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Tetsumoto, T., Nagatsuma, T., Fermann, M.E. et al. Optically referenced 300 GHz millimetre-wave oscillator. Nat. Photon. 15, 516–522 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-021-00790-2

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