Katja Beha

Self-Injection Locking and Phase-Locked States in Microresonator-Based Optical Frequency Combs

Microresonator-based optical frequency combs have been a topic of extensive research during the last few years. Several theoretical models for the comb generation have been proposed; however, they do not comprehensively address experimental results that show a variety of independent comb generation mechanisms. Here, we present frequency-domain experiments that illuminate the transition of microcombs into phase-locked states, which show characteristics of injection locking between ensembles of comb modes. In addition, we demonstrate the existence of equidistant optical frequency combs that are phase stable but have nondeterministic phase relationships between individual comb modes.

Phase steps and resonator detuning measurements in microresonator frequency combs

Experiments and theoretical modelling yielded significant progress toward understanding of Kerr-effect induced optical frequency comb generation in microresonators. However, the simultaneous Kerr-mediated interaction of hundreds or thousands of optical comb frequencies with the same number of resonator modes leads to complicated nonlinear dynamics that are far from fully understood. An important prerequisite for modelling the comb formation process is the knowledge of phase and amplitude of the comb modes as well as the detuning from their respective microresonator modes. Here, we present comprehensive measurements that fully characterize optical microcomb states. We introduce a way of measuring resonator dispersion and detuning of comb modes in a hot resonator while generating an optical frequency comb. The presented phase measurements show unpredicted comb states with discrete π and π/2 steps in the comb phases that are not observed in conventional optical frequency combs.

Broadband dispersion-engineered microresonator on a chip

The control of dispersion in fibre optical waveguides is of critical importance to optical fibre communications systems and more recently for continuum generation from the ultraviolet to the mid-infrared. The wavelength at which the group velocity dispersion crosses zero can be set by varying the fibre core diameter or index step. Moreover, sophisticated methods to manipulate higher-order dispersion so as to shape and even flatten the dispersion over wide bandwidths are possible using multi-cladding fibres. Here we introduce design and fabrication techniques that allow analogous dispersion control in chip-integrated optical microresonators, and thereby demonstrate higher-order, wide-bandwidth dispersion control over an octave of spectrum. Importantly, the fabrication method we employ for dispersion control simultaneously permits optical Q factors above 100 million, which is critical for the efficient operation of nonlinear optical oscillators. Dispersion control in high-Q systems has become of great importance in recent years with increased interest in chip-integrable optical frequency combs.

Spin-on Spintronics : Ultrafast Electron Spin Dynamics in ZnO and Zn1-xCoxO Sol-Gel Films

We use time-resolved Faraday rotation spectroscopy to probe the electron spin dynamics in ZnO and magnetically doped Zn(1-x)Co(x)O sol-gel thin films. In undoped ZnO, we observe an anomalous temperature dependence of the ensemble spin dephasing time T(2), i.e., longer coherence times at higher temperatures, reaching T(2) ∼ 1.2 ns at room temperature. Time-resolved transmission measurements suggest that this effect arises from hole trapping at grain surfaces. Deliberate addition of Co(2+) to ZnO increases the effective electron Landé g factor, providing the first direct determination of the mean-field electron-Co(2+) exchange energy in Zn(1-x)Co(x)O (N(0)α = +0.25 ± 0.02 eV). In Zn(1-x)Co(x)O, T(2) also increases with increasing temperature, allowing spin precession to be observed even at room temperature.

Colloidal ZnO quantum dots in ultraviolet pillar microcavities

Three dimensional light confinement and distinct pillar microcavity modes in the ultraviolet have been observed in pillar resonators with embedded colloidal ZnO quantum dots fabricated by focused ion beam milling. Results from a waveguide model for the mode patterns and their spectral positions are in excellent agreement with the experimental data.

Assignment of the NV 0 575-nm zero-phonon line in diamond to a 2 E- 2 A 2 transition

The time-averaged emission spectrum of single nitrogen-vacancy defects in diamond gives zero-phonon lines of both the negative charge state at 637 nm (1.945 eV) and the neutral charge state at 575 nm (2.156 eV). This occurs through photo-conversion between the two charge states. Due to strain in the diamond the zero-phonon lines are split and it is found that the splitting and polarization of the two zero-phonon lines are the same. From this observation and consideration of the electronic structure of the nitrogen-vacancy center it is concluded that the excited state of the neutral center has A2 orbital symmetry. The assignment of the 575 nm transition to a 2E - 2A2 transition has not been established previously.

Octave-spanning supercontinuum generation via microwave frequency multiplication

We demonstrate a system based on telecom components for the generation of a coherent octave-spanning supercontinuum from a continuous-wave laser. The system utilizes direct multiplication of a 10 GHz signal derived from a commercial synthesizer to carve pulses from the laser, which are then iteratively chirped and compressed in two stages. After reducing the repetition rate of the resulting pulse train to 2.5 GHz using selective transmission through an electro-optic gate, propagation through highly-nonlinear fiber generates an octave-spanning supercontinuum spectrum. We discuss the impact of the noise of the modulation frequency on the coherence of the supercontinuum and discuss its mitigation. Close agreement between experiment and theory is shown throughout, and we use our ability to precisely model the experiment to propose an extension of the system to 20 GHz repetition rate.

Corrigendum: Phase steps and resonator detuning measurements in microresonator frequency combs

Corrigendum: Phase steps and resonator detuning measurements in microresonator frequency combs

Phase Measurements and Phase-Locking in Microresonator-Based Optical Frequency Combs

We present a novel scheme for precise phase measurements of individual modes in microresonator-based optical frequency combs. We find microcomb states with characteristic phase-steps of multiples of π and π/2 in the comb spectrum.

All-optical stabilization of a microresonator frequency comb

We demonstrate an optical clock based on stabilization of a microcomb to rubidium optical transitions. The clocks output is the 33 GHz microcomb line spacing, which is a coherent, integer sub-division of the rubidium reference.