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arXiv · 2309.00446

Quantum Walk Comb in a Fast Gain Laser

Ina Heckelmann·Mathieu Bertrand·Alexander Dikopoltsev·Mattias Beck·Giacomo Scalari·Jérôme Faist
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Abstract

Synthetic lattices in photonics enable the exploration of light states in new dimensions, transcending phenomena common only to physical space. We propose and demonstrate a Quantum Walk Laser in synthetic frequency space formed by externally modulating a ring-shaped semiconductor laser with ultrafast recovery times. In this device, the initially ballistic quantum walk does not dissipate into low supermode states of the synthetic lattice; instead, thanks to the fast-gain nonlinearity of our quantum cascade laser active material, the state stabilizes in a broad frequency comb, unlocking the full potential of the lattice. This device produces a low-noise, nearly-flat broadband comb (reaching 100 cm$^{-1}$ bandwidth), well predicted by our models. The proposed Quantum Walk Laser offers a promising platform to generate broadband, tunable and stable frequency combs.

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Ina Heckelmann, Mathieu Bertrand, Alexander Dikopoltsev, Mattias Beck, Giacomo Scalari, Jérôme Faist. 2023-09-01. Quantum Walk Comb in a Fast Gain Laser. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adj3858

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