Keywords

Optical Frequency Comb, Opto-Electronic Oscillator

Abstract

Optical frequency combs (OFC) are now a well-known tool for utilizing broad optical bandwidths with electronic resolution. Several applications including spectroscopy, metrology, ultra-wideband signal processing, and communications are being propelled forward by optical frequency combs. The advent of high repetition rate optical frequency combs for use in astrophotonics has elucidated the need for newer architectures. This dissertation discloses a self-oscillating, self-stabilizing, and self-referenced opto-electronic oscillator (OEO) driven electro-optic modulated (EOM) based optical frequency comb. We demonstrate a new path towards high repetition rate OFCs with two major developments. The use of a photonically filtered OEO simultaneously stabilizes the optical carrier frequency and generates a spectrally pure & stable ∼ 10 GHz RF signal. The generated oscillation signal is then used to drive a cascade of electro-optic modulators to create a ∼ 10 GHz repetition rate EOM comb. A new all-fiber based nonlinear pulse compressor for conditioning picosecond pulses, with pico-Joule pulse energies where 60% of the energy lies in the pedestal. The compressor can produce pulses under 200 fs in duration with nanojoule pulse energies and high contrast. This all-fiber approach removes the need for expensive pulse-shapers and operates solely on nonlinear fiber dynamics. Finally, we detect the carrier-envelope-offset frequency ( f0) of the OEO EOM OFC through f-2f interferometry. This represents the first time a self-oscillating ∼10 GHz repetition rate comb source has been self-referenced.

Completion Date

2024

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

Delfyett, Peter

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Optics and Photonics

Degree Program

Optics and Photonics

Format

application/pdf

Language

English

Rights

In copyright

Release Date

November 2024

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

Accessibility Status

Meets minimum standards for ETDs/HUTs

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