Optoelectronic Device Frequency Comb Generation Mode Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing optoelectronic devices for generating frequency combs face challenges in achieving efficient and coherent frequency comb generation due to optical disturbances that degrade the formation of dissipative temporal Kerr solitons, particularly in multimode resonant rings which can interfere with abnormal dispersion regimes.
Innovation Solution
An optoelectronic device comprising a laser source and a ring optical micro-resonator with a filtering guide optically coupled to the resonant ring, where the filtering guide has an effective index matching a higher order optical mode, allowing for the filtering of higher order modes and maintaining abnormal dispersion, thus reducing optical losses and disturbances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the resonant ring is sized to obtain an anomalous dispersion regime, then coherent frequency comb generation is enabled, but the resonant ring becomes multimode causing mode interference and degrading the abnormal dispersion regime
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the harmful higher-order modes from the resonant ring by introducing a filtering waveguide that selectively couples to and extracts these modes, thereby eliminating mode interference while preserving the fundamental mode and abnormal dispersion regime necessary for coherent frequency comb generation
Solution Approach 2:
The filtering waveguide acts as an intermediary element between the resonant ring and the external environment, mediating the interaction by providing a controlled coupling path that selectively interacts with higher-order modes through evanescent field coupling while leaving the fundamental mode undisturbed
2Object-generated harmful factors
If a filtering structure is added to suppress higher order modes, then mode interference is reduced, but optical losses increase
Solution Approach 1:
The filtering waveguide is positioned at a specific location on the resonant ring where it provides local mode filtering functionality. The filtering action is localized to specific regions where higher-order modes are extracted, while other regions maintain their original characteristics, thus achieving mode suppression with minimal impact on overall optical circulation
Solution Approach 2:
The filtering waveguide provides partial filtering action by selectively coupling to only the harmful higher-order modes while leaving the fundamental mode unaffected. This partial action approach ensures that filtering is applied only where necessary, minimizing additional optical losses while effectively suppressing mode interference
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device generates a coherent frequency comb with reduced optical losses and increased robustness in maintaining abnormal dispersion, leading to improved coherence and reduced noise, enabling efficient generation of frequency combs with lower pump signal power requirements.
Implementation Method 1
a phenomenon known as four-wave cascading mixing appears which generates, from the fundamental mode supported by the resonant ring 20, a frequency comb
Implementation Method 2
the resonant ring made of a material with third-order nonlinear optical properties, here silicon nitride
Implementation Method 3
The optical micro-resonator 3 forms an optical parametric oscillator
Implementation Method 4
it is not necessary for the power of the pump signal to be large for the parametric gain to be greater than the optical losses present in the resonant ring
Implementation Method 5
The filter guide is optically coupled to the resonant ring in order to extract a higher order mode
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3A~4B
AI summary
The invention relates to an optoelectronic device for generating a frequency comb comprising: - a laser source (2); - an optical micro-resonator (3), comprising a resonant ring (20); - at least one waveguide (30) optically coupled to the resonant ring (20), having an effective index associated with a fundamental optical mode supported by the filter guide (30) equal to an effective index associated with a higher order optical mode supported by the resonant ring (20).