An optical frequency comb is a laser whose spectrum is formed by very sharp and evenly spaced frequency lines. The stabilization of the frequency location of these lines was achieved in 2000 and sparked a revolution in optical frequency synthesis and precision metrology. Since then, laser frequency combs have enabled a myriad of applications, from attoscience to all-optical clocks, and solutions based on modelocked laser oscillators have become commercially available. However, modelocked laser oscillators are built of discrete components and it is practically difficult to shrink their size. In 2007, a disruptive technology was developed that enabled the generation of optical frequency combs in a microphotonic chip: microresonator frequency combs. Even more important than their size, microresonator frequency combs allow for spacing the frequency comb lines in a range that goes from a few tens of GHz to several THz. As a result, they open up completely new possibilities for coherent optical communications, spectroscopy, radio-frequency photonics and astronomy.

In this seminar, I will provide a general overview of the research in microresonator frequency combs over the past decade or so. I will briefly cover different technological platforms, a grasp on the fascinating physics that underlie the comb generation process, a few selected applications and some of the most recent research directions.


Seminar, February 15, 2018, 12:00. ICFO’s Seminar Room

Hosted by Prof. Juan P. Torres