Self-starting harmonic frequency comb generation in a quantum cascade laser

Abstract

Optical frequency combs establish a rigid phase-coherent link between microwave and optical domains and are emerging as high-precision tools in an increasing number of applications. Frequency combs with large intermodal spacing are employed in the field of microwave photonics for radiofrequency arbitrary waveform synthesis and for generation of THz tones of high spectral purity in the future wireless communication networks. We demonstrate for the first time self-starting harmonic frequency comb generation with a THz repetition rate in a quantum cascade laser. The large intermodal spacing caused by the suppression of tens of adjacent cavity modes originates from a parametric contribution to the gain due to temporal modulations of the population inversion in the laser. The mode spacing of the harmonic comb is shown to be uniform to within $5\times 10^{-12}$ parts of the central frequency using multiheterodyne self-detection. This new harmonic comb state extends the range of applications of quantum cascade laser frequency combs.

References in corpus (3)

• Rapidly reconfigurable radio-frequency arbitrary waveforms synthesized on a CMOS photonic chip
• Single-mode instability in standing-wave lasers: The quantum cascade laser as a self-pumped parametric oscillator
• On-chip, self-detected THz dual-comb spectrometer

Cited by in corpus (20)

• Unifying frequency combs in active and passive cavities: Temporal solitons in externally-driven ring lasers
• On-chip mid-infrared and THz frequency combs for spectroscopy
• Planarized THz quantum cascade lasers for broadband coherent photonics
• Self-starting Harmonic Comb Emission in THz Quantum Cascade Lasers
• Monolithic Integration of Mid-Infrared Quantum Cascade Lasers and Frequency Combs with Passive Waveguides
• Harmonic frequency combs in quantum cascade lasers: time-domain and frequency-domain theory
• Laser radio transmitter
• Multi-mode Dynamics of Terahertz Quantum Cascade Lasers: spontaneous and actively induced generation of dense and harmonic coherent regimes
• Precision Spectroscopy of Nitrous Oxide Isotopocules with a Cross-Dispersed Spectrometer and Mid-Infrared Frequency Comb
• Frequency-modulated combs via on-chip field enhancement
• Real-time multimode dynamics of terahertz quantum cascade lasers via intracavity self-detection: observation of self mode-locked population pulsations
• Intensity correlations in quantum cascade laser harmonic frequency combs
• Mid-infrared quantum cascade laser frequency combs based on multi-section waveguides
• Lasing on hybridized soliton frequency combs
• Broadband surface-emitting THz laser frequency combs with inverse-designed integrated reflectors
• Battery-operated mid-infrared diode laser frequency combs
• Radiation of a Charge Exiting Open-Ended Waveguide with Dielectric Filling
• Heterodyne coherent detection of the electric field temporal trace emitted by frequency-modulated comb lasers
• Circuit-based Modular Implementation of Quantum Ghost Imaging
• Photon-driven broadband emission and RF injection locking of THz quantum cascade laser frequency combs