Researchers at NIST are developing micro-resonator devices for precision time and frequency metrology. These micro-combs and integrated reference cavities are fabricated using photonic integrated circuits, enabling compact, low-power devices with reduced environmental sensitivity.
Micro-resonator combs, or microcombs, are created through parametric oscillation and four-wave mixing, requiring only a continuous-wave pump laser. Their unique repetition rates (1-1000 GHz) make them suitable for applications ranging from telecommunications to astronomical spectrograph calibration. The usable frequency span of microcombs depends on low dispersion, making material properties critical but also enabling operation in important new wavelength bands like the mid-infrared molecular “fingerprint” region.
NIST researchers have demonstrated several critical advances, including the first chip-scale optical clock and self-referenced microcomb, basic investigation of modelocking in microcomb systems, and a chip-scale optical frequency reference with ~50 Hz linewidth. These innovations have opened up new possibilities for the development of compact, high-performance optical frequency combs and lasers.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/microresonator-device-research
Keywords: sensing, metrology, resonators
