arXiv · 2503.09166
Microring resonator as a Rayleigh mirror for broadband laser-cavity comb generation
Abstract
High-quality microring resonators (MRRs) have proven to be promising sources of optical combs generated from continuous-wave radiation. In addition to the primary comb that propagates along with the pump, Rayleigh scattering creates a comb that travels in the opposite direction. Normally, the scattering is a very weak, however, in the high-quality-factor MRR the power transferred to the backward-propagating comb can be quite significant. We demonstrate that the backward-propagating comb can be used as a feedback source for a fiber laser, effectively creating a nonlinear mirror for the laser cavity. By assembling a simple laser cavity comprising only active fiber and two mirrors, one of which is an integrated MRR, we show a robust self-starting comb generation with width exceeding 500 nm. We confirm the universal character of this approach for other types of microresonators, including whispering gallery mode resonators, by launching self-starting laser cavity combs with the crystalline toroidal cavity, coupled with a tapered fiber. This method provides significant simplification for the filter-driven laser cavity soliton generation, especially when free-space coupling is applied.
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Aram A. Mkrtchyan, Anastasia S. Netrusova, Mikhail S. Mishevsky, Zohran Ali, Nikita Yu. Dmitriev, Kirill N. Minkov, Dmitry A. Chermoshentsev, Albert G. Nasibulin, Igor A. Bilenko, Yuriy G. Gladush. 2025-03-12. Microring resonator as a Rayleigh mirror for broadband laser-cavity comb generation. https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.09166
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