Free-running performance and full control of a passively phase-stable Er:fiber frequency comb

Optical frequency combs based on erbium-doped fiber lasers are attractive tools in precision metrology due to their inherent compactness and stability. Here we study a femtosecond Er:fiber comb that passively eliminates the carrier–envelope phase slip by difference frequency generation. Quantum statistics inside the all-fiber soliton oscillator governs its free-running performance. Active stabilization of the repetition rate supports a subhertz optical linewidth and does not necessitate additional intracavity elements. Direct locking to an optical atomic frequency standard enables generation of a 100 MHz microwave signal with a stability of 3.4 mHz maintained over 15 min.

[1]  Rüdiger Paschotta,et al.  Timing jitter and phase noiseof mode-locked fiber lasers. , 2010, Optics express.

[2]  Hall,et al.  Carrier-envelope phase control of femtosecond mode-locked lasers and direct optical frequency synthesis , 2000, Science.

[3]  Hirokazu Matsumoto,et al.  Broad-spectrum frequency comb generation and carrier-envelope offset frequency measurement using the second harmonic generation of a mode-locked fiber laser , 2003, Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, 2003. CLEO '03..

[4]  Jun Ye,et al.  Cavity-enhanced direct frequency comb spectroscopy: technology and applications. , 2010, Annual review of analytical chemistry.

[5]  A Hati,et al.  Operation of an optically coherent frequency comb outside the metrology lab. , 2014, Optics express.

[6]  Young-Jin Kim,et al.  Testing of a femtosecond pulse laser in outer space , 2014, Scientific Reports.

[7]  Tan Min Pau,et al.  Genetic structure of the snakehead murrel, Channa striata (channidae) based on the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene: Influence of historical and geomorphological factors , 2011, Genetics and molecular biology.

[8]  Alfred Leitenstorfer,et al.  Amplified femtosecond pulses from an Er:fiber system: Nonlinear pulse shortening and selfreferencing detection of the carrier-envelope phase evolution. , 2003, Optics express.

[9]  P. Gould,et al.  Two-photon two-color diode laser spectroscopy of the Rb 5D5/2 state , 1995 .

[10]  Giorgio Santarelli,et al.  Spectral purity transfer between optical wavelengths at the 10 −18 level , 2014, CPEM 2014.

[11]  Scott A. Diddams,et al.  The evolving optical frequency comb [Invited] , 2010 .

[12]  Hermann A. Haus,et al.  Noise of mode-locked lasers , 1993, Optical Society of America Annual Meeting.

[13]  Jun Ye,et al.  Mode-locked fiber laser frequency-controlled with an intracavity electro-optic modulator. , 2005, Optics letters.

[14]  F. Kärtner,et al.  Pulse synthesis in the single-cycle regime from independent mode-locked lasers using attosecond-precision feedback. , 2012, Optics letters.

[15]  Yakov Rekhter,et al.  Mpls: Technology and Applications , 2000 .

[16]  Takao Fuji,et al.  Controlling the carrier-envelope phase of ultrashort light pulses with optical parametric amplifiers. , 2002, Physical review letters.

[17]  Alfred Leitenstorfer,et al.  Ultrastable fiber amplifier delivering 145-fs pulses with 6-μJ energy at 10-MHz repetition rate. , 2015, Optics letters.

[18]  S. Schilt,et al.  Experimental validation of a simple approximation to determine the linewidth of a laser from its frequency noise spectrum. , 2012, Applied optics.

[19]  Alfred Leitenstorfer,et al.  Femtosecond coherent seeding of a broadband Tm:fiber amplifier by an Er:fiber system. , 2012, Optics letters.

[20]  William C. Swann,et al.  Low-noise fiber-laser frequency combs , 2007 .

[21]  William C. Swann,et al.  Low-noise fiber-laser frequency combs (Invited) , 2007 .

[22]  Günter Steinmeyer,et al.  Direct frequency comb synthesis with arbitrary offset and shot-noise-limited phase noise , 2010 .

[23]  Jianye Zhao,et al.  A stable frequency comb directly referenced to rubidium electromagnetically induced transparency and two-photon transitions , 2014 .

[24]  Nathan R. Newbury,et al.  Searching for applications with a fine-tooth comb , 2011 .

[25]  Alfred Leitenstorfer,et al.  Ultrabroadband Er:fiber lasers , 2014 .

[26]  Andrew Szentgyorgyi,et al.  Operation of a broadband visible-wavelength astro-comb with a high-resolution astrophysical spectrograph , 2015 .

[27]  H. Haus,et al.  Random walk of coherently amplified solitons in optical fiber transmission. , 1986, Optics letters.

[28]  M. Takeda,et al.  Fourier-transform method of fringe-pattern analysis for computer-based topography and interferometry , 1982 .

[29]  A. Luiten,et al.  Ultra-low noise microwave extraction from fiber-based optical frequency comb , 2009, EFTF-2010 24th European Frequency and Time Forum.

[30]  T J Quinn,et al.  Practical realization of the definition of the metre, including recommended radiations of other optical frequency standards (2001) , 2003 .

[31]  Alfred Leitenstorfer,et al.  8-fs pulses from a compact Er:fiber system: quantitative modeling and experimental implementation. , 2009, Optics express.

[32]  T. Hänsch,et al.  Optical frequency metrology , 2002, Nature.

[33]  L. Orozco,et al.  Lifetime measurements of the 5 d states of rubidium , 2008, 0811.4010.

[34]  Alfred Leitenstorfer,et al.  All-passive phase locking of a compact Er:fiber laser system. , 2011, Optics letters.

[35]  N. Newbury,et al.  Elimination of pump-induced frequency jitter on fiber-laser frequency combs. , 2006, Optics letters.

[36]  Rajarshi Roy,et al.  Extracavity laser band-shape and bandwidth modification , 1982 .

[37]  A. Leitenstorfer,et al.  Highly efficient second, third and fourth harmonic generation from a two- branch femtosecond erbium fiber source. , 2006, Optics express.

[38]  C. Fallnich,et al.  Frequency stabilization of mode-locked Erbium fiber lasers using pump power control , 2004 .

[39]  L. Hollberg,et al.  Femtosecond-laser-based synthesis of ultrastable microwave signals from optical frequency references. , 2005, Optics letters.

[40]  Nathan R Newbury,et al.  Phase-locked, erbium-fiber-laser-based frequency comb in the near infrared. , 2004, Optics letters.

[41]  Yohei Kobayashi,et al.  Offset-free broadband Yb:fiber optical frequency comb for optical clocks. , 2015, Optics express.