Chip-scale frequency combs such as those based on quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) or microresonators are attracting tremendous attention because of their potential to solve key challenges in sensing and metrology. Though nonlinearity and proper dispersion engineering can create a comb—light whose lines are perfectly evenly spaced—these devices can enter into different states depending on their history, a critical problem that can necessitate slow and manual intervention. Moreover, their large repetition rates are problematic for applications such as dual comb molecular spectroscopy, requiring gapless tuning of the offset. Here, we show that by blending midinfrared QCL combs with microelectromechanical comb drives, one can directly manipulate the dynamics of the comb and identify new physical effects. Not only do the resulting devices remain on a chip-scale and are able to stably tune over large frequency ranges, but they can also switch between different comb states at extremely high speeds. We use these devices to probe hysteresis in comb formation and develop a protocol for achieving a particular comb state regardless of its initial state.
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8 July 2019
Research Article|
July 11 2019
Microelectromechanical control of the state of quantum cascade laser frequency combs Available to Purchase
Special Collection:
On-Chip Mid-Infrared and THz Frequency Combs for Spectroscopy
David Burghoff;
David Burghoff
a)
1
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
2
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Notre Dame
, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
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Ningren Han;
Ningren Han
1
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
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Filippos Kapsalidis
;
Filippos Kapsalidis
3
Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH Zurich
, Zurich CH-8093, Switzerland
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Nathan Henry;
Nathan Henry
4
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
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Mattias Beck
;
Mattias Beck
3
Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH Zurich
, Zurich CH-8093, Switzerland
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Jacob Khurgin
;
Jacob Khurgin
4
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
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Jerome Faist
;
Jerome Faist
3
Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH Zurich
, Zurich CH-8093, Switzerland
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Qing Hu
Qing Hu
1
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
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David Burghoff
1,2,a)
Ningren Han
1
Filippos Kapsalidis
3
Nathan Henry
4
Mattias Beck
3
Jacob Khurgin
4
Jerome Faist
3
Qing Hu
1
1
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
2
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Notre Dame
, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
3
Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH Zurich
, Zurich CH-8093, Switzerland
4
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA
a)
Electronic mail: [email protected]
Appl. Phys. Lett. 115, 021105 (2019)
Article history
Received:
March 31 2019
Accepted:
June 24 2019
Citation
David Burghoff, Ningren Han, Filippos Kapsalidis, Nathan Henry, Mattias Beck, Jacob Khurgin, Jerome Faist, Qing Hu; Microelectromechanical control of the state of quantum cascade laser frequency combs. Appl. Phys. Lett. 8 July 2019; 115 (2): 021105. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5098086
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