Optical microsphere resonators: optimal coupling to high-Q whispering gallery modes

A general model is presented for coupling of high-$Q$ whispering-gallery modes in optical microsphere resonators with coupler devices possessing discrete and continuous spectrum of propagating modes. By contrast to conventional high-Q optical cavities, in microspheres independence of high intrinsic quality-factor and controllable parameters of coupling via evanescent field offer variety of regimes earlier available in RF devices. The theory is applied to the earlier-reported data on different types of couplers to microsphere resonators and complemented by experimental demonstration of enhanced coupling efficiency (about 80%) and variable loading regimes with Q>10^8 fused silica microspheres.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Mid-Infrared ultra-high-Q resonators based on fluoride crystalline materials

Decades ago, the losses of glasses in the near infrared (near-IR) were investigated in views of developments for optical telecommunications. Today, properties in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) are of interest for molecular spectroscopy applications. In particular, high-sensitivity spectroscopic techniques based on high-finesse mid-IR cavities hold high promise for medical applications. Due to exceptional purity and low losses, whispering gallery mode microresonators based on polished alkaline earth metal fluoride crystals (i.e the $\mathrm{XF_2}$ family, where X $=$ Ca, Mg, Ba, Sr,...) have attained ultra-high quality (Q) factor resonances (Q$>$10$^{8}$) in the near-IR and visible spectral ranges. Here we report for the first time ultra-high Q factors in the mid-IR using crystalline microresonators. Using an uncoated chalcogenide (ChG) tapered fiber, light from a continuous wave quantum cascade laser (QCL) is efficiently coupled to several crystalline microresonators at 4.4 $\mu$m wavelength. We measure the optical Q factor of fluoride crystals in the mid-IR using cavity ringdown technique. We observe that $\mathrm{MgF_2}$ microresonators feature quality factors that are very close to the fundamental absorption limit, as caused by the crystal's multiphonon absorption (Q$\sim$10$^{7}$), in contrast to near-IR measurements far away from these fundamental limits. Due to lower multiphonon absorption in $\mathrm{BaF_2}$ and $\mathrm{SrF_2}$, we show that ultra-high quality factors of Q $\geqslant$ 1.4 $\times 10^{8}$ can be reached at 4.4 $\mu$m. This corresponds to an optical finesse of $\mathcal{F}>$4$\cdot$ 10$^{4}$, the highest value achieved for any type of mid-IR resonator to date, and a more than 10-fold improvement over the state-of-the-art. Such compact ultra-high Q crystalline microresonators provide a route for narrow linewidth frequency-stabilized QCL or mid-IR Kerr comb generation.Comment: C. Lecaplain and C. Javerzac-Galy contributed equally to this wor

Frequency combs and platicons in optical microresonators with normal GVD

We predict the existence of a novel type of the flat-top dissipative solitonic pulses, "platicons", in microresonators with normal group velocity dispersion (GVD). We propose methods to generate these platicons from cw pump. Their duration may be altered significantly by tuning the pump frequency. The transformation of a discrete energy spectrum of dark solitons of the Lugiato-Lefever equation into a quasicontinuous spectrum of platicons is demonstrated. Generation of similar structures is also possible with bi-harmonic, phase/amplitude modulated pump or via laser injection locking.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Octave Spanning Frequency Comb on a Chip

Optical frequency combs have revolutionized the field of frequency metrology within the last decade and have become enabling tools for atomic clocks, gas sensing and astrophysical spectrometer calibration. The rapidly increasing number of applications has heightened interest in more compact comb generators. Optical microresonator based comb generators bear promise in this regard. Critical to their future use as 'frequency markers', is however the absolute frequency stabilization of the optical comb spectrum. A powerful technique for this stabilization is self-referencing, which requires a spectrum that spans a full octave, i.e. a factor of two in frequency. In the case of mode locked lasers, overcoming the limited bandwidth has become possible only with the advent of photonic crystal fibres for supercontinuum generation. Here, we report for the first time the generation of an octave-spanning frequency comb directly from a toroidal microresonator on a silicon chip. The comb spectrum covers the wavelength range from 990 nm to 2170 nm and is retrieved from a continuous wave laser interacting with the modes of an ultra high Q microresonator, without relying on external broadening. Full tunability of the generated frequency comb over a bandwidth exceeding an entire free spectral range is demonstrated. This allows positioning of a frequency comb mode to any desired frequency within the comb bandwidth. The ability to derive octave spanning spectra from microresonator comb generators represents a key step towards achieving a radio-frequency to optical link on a chip, which could unify the fields of metrology with micro- and nano-photonics and enable entirely new devices that bring frequency metrology into a chip scale setting for compact applications such as space based optical clocks

Synthesis and Properties of Dipyridylcyclopentenes

A short and general route to the substituted dipyridylcyclopentenes was explored and several new compounds belonging to this new group of diarylethenes were synthesized. The study of their photochromic and thermochromic properties shows that the rate of the thermal ring opening is strongly dependent on the polarity of the solvent.

Mode spectrum and temporal soliton formation in optical microresonators

The formation of temporal dissipative solitons in optical microresonators enables compact, high repetition rate sources of ultra-short pulses as well as low noise, broadband optical frequency combs with smooth spectral envelopes. Here we study the influence of the resonator mode spectrum on temporal soliton formation. Using frequency comb assisted diode laser spectroscopy, the measured mode structure of crystalline MgF2 resonators are correlated with temporal soliton formation. While an overal general anomalous dispersion is required, it is found that higher order dispersion can be tolerated as long as it does not dominate the resonator's mode structure. Mode coupling induced avoided crossings in the resonator mode spectrum are found to prevent soliton formation, when affecting resonator modes close to the pump laser. The experimental observations are in excellent agreement with numerical simulations based on the nonlinear coupled mode equations, which reveal the rich interplay of mode crossings and soliton formation

Temporal solitons in optical microresonators

Dissipative solitons can emerge in a wide variety of dissipative nonlinear systems throughout the fields of optics, medicine or biology. Dissipative solitons can also exist in Kerr-nonlinear optical resonators and rely on the double balance between parametric gain and resonator loss on the one hand and nonlinearity and diffraction or dispersion on the other hand. Mathematically these solitons are solution to the Lugiato-Lefever equation and exist on top of a continuous wave (cw) background. Here we report the observation of temporal dissipative solitons in a high-Q optical microresonator. The solitons are spontaneously generated when the pump laser is tuned through the effective zero detuning point of a high-Q resonance, leading to an effective red-detuned pumping. Red-detuned pumping marks a fundamentally new operating regime in nonlinear microresonators. While usually unstablethis regime acquires unique stability in the presence of solitons without any active feedback on the system. The number of solitons in the resonator can be controlled via the pump laser detuning and transitions to and between soliton states are associated with discontinuous steps in the resonator transmission. Beyond enabling to study soliton physics such as soliton crystals our observations open the route towards compact, high repetition-rate femto-second sources, where the operating wavelength is not bound to the availability of broadband laser gain media. The single soliton states correspond in the frequency domain to low-noise optical frequency combs with smooth spectral envelopes, critical to applications in broadband spectroscopy, telecommunications, astronomy and low phase-noise microwave generation.Comment: Includes Supplementary Informatio