Myoung-Gyun Suh

Soliton frequency comb at microwave rates in a high-Q silica microresonator

Frequency combs are having a broad impact on science and technology because they provide a way to coherently link radio/microwave-rate electrical signals with optical-rate signals derived from lasers and atomic transitions. Integrating these systems on a photonic chip would revolutionize instrumentation, time keeping, spectroscopy, navigation, and potentially create new mass-market applications. A key element of such a system-on-a-chip will be a mode-locked comb that can be self-referenced. The recent demonstration of soliton mode locking in crystalline and silicon nitride microresonators has provided a way to both mode lock and generate femtosecond time-scale pulses. Here, soliton mode locking is demonstrated in high-Q silica resonators. The resonators produce low-phase-noise soliton pulse trains at readily detectable pulse rates—two essential properties for the operation of frequency combs. A method for the long-term stabilization of the solitons is also demonstrated, and is used to test the theoretical dependence of the comb power, efficiency, and soliton existence power on the pulse width. The influence of the Raman process on the soliton existence power and efficiency is also observed. The resonators are microfabricated on silicon chips and feature reproducible modal properties required for soliton formation. A low-noise and detectable pulse rate soliton frequency comb on a chip is a significant step towards a fully integrated frequency comb system.

Spiral resonators for on-chip laser frequency stabilization

Frequency references are indispensable to radio, microwave and time keeping systems, with far reaching applications in navigation, communication, remote sensing and basic science. Over the past decade, there has been an optical revolution in time keeping and microwave generation that promises to ultimately impact all of these areas. Indeed, the most precise clocks and lowest noise microwave signals are now based on a laser with short-term stability derived from a reference cavity. In spite of the tremendous progress, these systems remain essentially laboratory devices and there is interest in their miniaturization, even towards on-chip systems. Here we describe a chip-based optical reference cavity that uses spatial averaging of thermorefractive noise to enhance resonator stability. Stabilized fibre lasers exhibit relative Allan deviation of 3.9 × 10−13 at 400 μs averaging time and an effective linewidth <100 Hz by achieving over 26 dB of phase-noise reduction.

An optical-frequency synthesizer using integrated photonics.

Integrated-photonics microchips now enable a range of advanced functionalities for high-coherence applications such as data transmission, highly optimized physical sensors, and harnessing quantum states, but with cost, efficiency, and portability much beyond tabletop experiments. Through high-volume semiconductor processing built around advanced materials there exists an opportunity for integrated devices to impact applications cutting across disciplines of basic science and technology. Here we show how to synthesize the absolute frequency of a lightwave signal, using integrated photonics to implement lasers, system interconnects, and nonlinear frequency comb generation. The laser frequency output of our synthesizer is programmed by a microwave clock across 4 THz near 1550 nm with 1 Hz resolution and traceability to the SI second. This is accomplished with a heterogeneously integrated III/V-Si tunable laser, which is guided by dual dissipative-Kerr-soliton frequency combs fabricated on silicon chips. Through out-of-loop measurements of the phase-coherent, microwave-to-optical link, we verify that the fractional-frequency instability of the integrated photonics synthesizer matches the 7.0x10^(−13) reference-clock instability for a 1 second acquisition, and constrain any synthesis error to 7.7x10^(−15) while stepping the synthesizer across the telecommunication C band. Any application of an optical frequency source would be enabled by the precision optical synthesis presented here. Building on the ubiquitous capability in the microwave domain, our results demonstrate a first path to synthesis with integrated photonics, leveraging low-cost, low-power, and compact features that will be critical for its widespread use.Optical-frequency synthesizers, which generate frequency-stable light from a single microwave-frequency reference, are revolutionizing ultrafast science and metrology, but their size, power requirement and cost need to be reduced if they are to be more widely used. Integrated-photonics microchips can be used in high-coherence applications, such as data transmission1, highly optimized physical sensors2 and harnessing quantum states3, to lower cost and increase efficiency and portability. Here we describe a method for synthesizing the absolute frequency of a lightwave signal, using integrated photonics to create a phase-coherent microwave-to-optical link. We use a heterogeneously integrated III–V/silicon tunable laser, which is guided by nonlinear frequency combs fabricated on separate silicon chips and pumped by off-chip lasers. The laser frequency output of our optical-frequency synthesizer can be programmed by a microwave clock across 4 terahertz near 1,550 nanometres (the telecommunications C-band) with 1 hertz resolution. Our measurements verify that the output of the synthesizer is exceptionally stable across this region (synthesis error of 7.7 × 10−15 or below). Any application of an optical-frequency source could benefit from the high-precision optical synthesis presented here. Leveraging high-volume semiconductor processing built around advanced materials could allow such low-cost, low-power and compact integrated-photonics devices to be widely used.An optical-frequency synthesizer based on stabilized frequency combs has been developed utilizing chip-scale devices as key components, in a move towards using integrated photonics technology for ultrafast science and metrology.

Microresonator Brillouin gyroscope

Optical-based rotation sensors have revolutionized precision, high-sensitivity inertial navigation systems. At the same time these sensors use bulky optical fiber spools or free-space resonators. A chip-based, micro-optical gyroscope is demonstrated that uses counterpropagating Brillouin lasers to measure rotation as a Sagnac-induced frequency shift. Preliminary work has demonstrated a rotation-rate measurement that surpasses prior micro-optical rotation-sensing systems by over 40-fold.

Soliton microcomb range measurement

Miniaturized optical ranging and tracking Light detection and ranging systems are used in many engineering and environmental sensing applications. Their relatively large size and cost, however, tend to be prohibitive for general use in autonomous vehicles and drones. Suh and Vahala and Trocha et al. show that optical frequency combs generated by microresonator devices can be used for precision ranging and the tracking of fast-moving objects. The compact size of the microresonators could broaden the scope for widespread applications, providing a platform for miniaturized laser ranging systems suitable for photonic integration. Science, this issue p. 884, p. 887 Optical microresonators can be used for light detection and ranging as well as tracking fast-moving objects. Laser-based range measurement systems are important in many application areas, including autonomous vehicles, robotics, manufacturing, formation flying of satellites, and basic science. Coherent laser ranging systems using dual-frequency combs provide an unprecedented combination of long range, high precision, and fast update rate. We report dual-comb distance measurement using chip-based soliton microcombs. A single pump laser was used to generate dual-frequency combs within a single microresonator as counterpropagating solitons. We demonstrated time-of-flight measurement with 200-nanometer precision at an averaging time of 500 milliseconds within a range ambiguity of 16 millimeters. Measurements at distances up to 25 meters with much lower precision were also performed. Our chip-based source is an important step toward miniature dual-comb laser ranging systems that are suitable for photonic integration.

Nanometer sized Ni-dot/Ag/Pt structure for high reflectance of p-type contact metal in InGaN light emitting diodes

The Ni-dot/Ag/Pt layer, where Ni-dot layer is formed of nanometer sized Ni dots, has been used to improve the reflectivity from the surface of p-type GaN in a light emitting diode (LED). Comparing with Ni/Ag/Pt layer, where Ni layer is a thin film, the Ni-dot/Ag/Pt structure shows significantly improved reflectivity with stable contact resistivity. The optical output power and external quantum efficiency of InGaN LEDs with Ni-dot/Ag/Pt structure for p-metal have improved by 28% and 29%, respectively, over the results of Ni/Ag/Pt structure.

Phonon-Limited-Linewidth of Brillouin Lasers at Cryogenic Temperatures

Laser linewidth is of central importance in spectroscopy, frequency metrology, and all applications of lasers requiring high coherence. It is also of fundamental importance, because the Schawlow-Townes laser linewidth limit is of quantum origin. Recently, a theory of stimulated Brillouin laser (SBL) linewidth has been reported. While the SBL linewidth formula exhibits power and optical Q factor dependences that are identical to the Schawlow-Townes formula, a source of noise not present in conventional lasers, phonon occupancy of the Brillouin mechanical mode is predicted to be the dominant SBL linewidth contribution. Moreover, the quantum limit of the SBL linewidth is predicted to be twice the Schawlow-Townes limit on account of phonon participation. To help confirm this theory the SBL fundamental linewidth is measured at cryogenic temperatures in a silica microresonator. Its temperature dependence and the SBL linewidth theory are combined to predict the number of thermomechanical quanta at three temperatures. The result agrees with the Bose-Einstein phonon occupancy of the microwave-rate Brillouin mode in support of the SBL linewidth theory prediction.

Fiber taper characterization by optical backscattering reflectometry

Fiber tapers provide a way to rapidly measure the spectra of many types of optical microcavities. Proper fabrication of the taper ensures that its width varies sufficiently slowly (adiabatically) along the length of the taper so as to maintain single spatial mode propagation. This is usually accomplished by monitoring the spectral transmission through the taper. In addition to this characterization method it is also helpful to know the taper width versus length. By developing a model of optical backscattering within the fiber taper, it is possible to use backscatter measurements to characterize the taper width versus length. The model uses the concept of a local taper numerical aperture to accurately account for varying backscatter collection along the length of the taper. In addition to taper profile information, the backscatter reflectometry method delineates locations along the taper where fluctuations in fiber core refractive index, cladding refractive index, and taper surface roughness each provide the dominant source of backscattering. Rayleigh backscattering coefficients are also extracted by fitting the data with the model and are consistent with the fiber manufacturers datasheet. The optical backscattering reflectometer is also used to observe defects resulting from microcracks and surface contamination. All of this information can be obtained before the taper is removed from its fabrication apparatus. The backscattering method should also be prove useful for characterization of nanofibers.

Stablization of fiber lasers using chip-based high-Q optical resonators

High-Q disk resonators are used to frequency stabilize two fiber lasers. The improved phase noise of the devices is measured by heterodyne detection and compared to theoretical limits set by thermo-refractive noise.

Study on the effect of reverse current blocking layer for concentrator solar cells

In high concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) systems, III-V multijunction solar cells work under high concentration condition at a small size, normally less than 1cm2. In this case, the metal coverage ratio and the current density become larger than those in the case of flat-plate solar cells. Due to the high current density, combined with the sheet resistance of solar cells, most of currents reverse to photocurrents flow vertically under front metal grids. This non-uniformity is critical when the metal coverage ratio is large as the case of concentrator solar cells. In this paper, the effects of metal coverage ratio and non-uniform reverse current density (i.e. forward bias current density) on the performance of InGaP/InGaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cells under high concentration were analyzed in detail. Moreover, by introducing reverse current blocking layer between metal busbar and AlInP window layer, we have successfully reduced the unwanted reverse current and achieved significant improvement in cell efficiency under high concentration condition.