Terahertz wave generation using a soliton microcomb

Abstract

The Terahertz or millimeter wave frequency band (300 GHz - 3 THz) is spectrally located between microwaves and infrared light and has attracted significant interest for applications in broadband wireless communications, space-borne radiometers for Earth remote sensing, astrophysics, and imaging. In particular optically generated THz waves are of high interest for low-noise signal generation. In particular optically generated THz waves are of high interest for low-noise signal generation. Here, we propose and demonstrate stabilized terahertz wave generation using a microresonator-based frequency comb (microcomb). A unitravelling-carrier photodiode (UTC-PD) converts low-noise optical soliton pulses from the microcomb to a terahertz wave at the soliton's repetition rate (331 GHz). With a free-running microcomb, the Allan deviation of the Terahertz signal is 4.5*10^-9 at 1 s measurement time with a phase noise of -72 dBc/Hz (-118 dBc/Hz) at 10 kHz (10 MHz) offset frequency. By locking the repetition rate to an in-house hydrogen maser, in-loop fractional frequency stabilities of 9.6*10^-15 and 1.9*10^-17 are obtained at averaging times of 1 s and 2000 s respectively, limited by the maser reference signal. Moreover, the terahertz signal is successfully used to perform a proof-of-principle demonstration of terahertz imaging of peanuts. Combining the monolithically integrated UTC-PD with an on-chip microcomb, the demonstrated technique could provide a route towards highly stable continuous terahertz wave generation in chip-scale packages for out-of-the-lab applications. In particular, such systems would be useful as compact tools for high-capacity wireless communication, spectroscopy, imaging, remote sensing, and astrophysical applications.

References in corpus (10)

• Optical frequency comb generation from a monolithic microresonator
• Temporal solitons in optical microresonators
• Generation of Ultrastable Microwaves via Optical Frequency Division
• Fully integrated ultra-low power Kerr comb generation
• Photonic microwave signals with zeptosecond level absolute timing noise
• Full Stabilization of a Microresonator based Optical Frequency Comb
• μW-Level Microresonator Solitons with Extended Stability Range Using an Auxiliary Laser
• Low-Pump-Power, Low-Phase-Noise, and Microwave to Millimeter-wave Repetition Rate Operation in Microcombs
• Spectral and temporal characterization of a fused-quartz microresonator optical frequency comb
• Spectral purification of microwave signals with disciplined dissipative Kerr solitons

Cited by in corpus (23)

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• Towards high-power, high-coherence, integrated photonic mmWave platform with microcavity solitons
• Dark-Bright Soliton Bound States in a Microresonator
• Thermal control of Kerr microresonator soliton comb via an optical sideband
• Low phase noise THz generation from a fiber-referenced Kerr microresonator soliton comb
• 300 GHz generation based on a Kerr microresonator frequency comb stabilized to a low noise microwave reference
• Machine Learning Assisted Inverse Design of Microresonators
• Amplification and phase noise transfer of a Kerr microresonator soliton comb for low phase noise THz generation with a high signal-to-noise ratio
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• Real-time imaging of standing-wave patterns in microresonators
• Triggerless data acquisition in asynchronous optical-sampling terahertz time-domain spectroscopy based on dual-comb system
• Effects of a quiet point on a Kerr microresonator frequency comb
• Universal Kerr-thermal dynamics of self-injection-locked microresonator dark pulses
• Coherent terahertz-to-microwave link using electro-optic-modulated Turing rolls
• Stepped-Frequency THz-wave Signal Generation From a Kerr Microresonator Soliton Comb
• Generation of a microresonator soliton comb via current modulation of a DFB laser
• Direct fiber-coupled soliton microcomb system with enhanced stability and reproducibility via high numerical-aperture polarization-maintaining single-mode fibers and temperature control
• All-photonic W-band terahertz receiver based on THz-to-optical carrier conversion with soliton microcomb dual carriers for high-speed OOK wireless transmission