Laser linewidth is of central importance in spectroscopy, frequency metrology and all applications of lasers requiring high coherence. It is also of fundamental importance, because the Schawlow-Townes laser linewidth limit is of quantum origin. Recently, a theory of stimulated Brillouin laser (SBL) linewidth has been reported. While the SBL linewidth formula exhibits power and optical Q factor dependences that are identical to the Schawlow-Townes formula, a source of noise not present in two-level lasers, phonon occupancy of the Brillouin mechanical mode, is predicted to be the dominant SBL linewidth contribution. Moreover, the quantum-limit of the SBL linewidth is predicted to be twice the Schawlow-Townes limit on account of phonon participation. To help confirm this theory the SBL fundamental linewidth is measured at cryogenic temperatures in a silica microresonator. Its temperature dependence and the SBL linewidth theory are combined to predict the number of thermo-mechanical quanta at three temperatures. The result agrees with the Bose-Einstein phonon occupancy of the microwave-rate Brillouin mode in support of the SBL linewidth theory prediction.
State Key Laboratory of Ultra-intense Laser Science and Technology, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院上海光学精密机械研究所超快激光科学与技术国家重点实验室）；Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学材料科学与光电技术研究中心）；State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University（华东师范大学精密光谱科学与技术国家重点实验室）；The Extreme Optoelectromechanics Laboratory (XXL), School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University（华东师范大学物理与电子科学学院极端光机电实验室）；Shanghai Research Center for Quantum Sciences（上海市量子科学研究中心）；Hefei National Laboratory（合肥国家实验室）；Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University（山西大学极端光学协同创新中心）；Collaborative Innovation Center of Light Manipulations and Applications, Shandong Normal University（山东师范大学光调控与应用协同创新中心）
Photonic systems and technologies traditionally relegated to table-top experiments are poised to make the leap from the laboratory to real-world applications through integration. Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) lasers, through their unique linewidth narrowing properties, are an ideal candidate to create highly-coherent waveguide integrated sources. In particular, cascaded-order Brillouin lasers show promise for multi-line emission, low-noise microwave generation and other optical comb applications. Photonic integration of these lasers can dramatically improve their stability to environme…
Photonically integrated resonators are promising as a platform for enabling ultranarrow linewidth lasers in a compact form factor. Owing to their small size, these integrated resonators suffer from thermal noise that limits the frequency stability of the optical mode to ~100 kHz. Here, we demonstrate an integrated stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) laser based on a large mode-volume annulus resonator that realizes an ultranarrow thermal-noise-limited linewidth of 270 Hz. In practice, yet narrower linewidths are required before integrated lasers can be truly useful for applications such as o…
We demonstrate an ultralow-noise microrod-resonator based laser that oscillates on the gain supplied by the stimulated Brillouin scattering optical nonlinearity. Microresonator Brillouin lasers are known to offer an outstanding frequency noise floor, which is limited by fundamental thermal fluctuations. Here, we show experimental evidence that thermal effects also dominate the close-to-carrier frequency fluctuations. The 6-mm diameter microrod resonator used in our experiments has a large optical mode area of ~100 μm$^2$, and hence its 10 ms thermal time constant filters the close-to-carrier o…
By generating a Brillouin laser in an optical microresonator, we realize a soliton Kerr microcomb through exciting the Kerr frequency comb using the generated Brillouin laser in the same cavity. The intracavity Brillouin laser pumping scheme enables us to access the soliton states with a blue-detuned input pump. Due to the ultra-narrow linewidth and the low-noise properties of the generated Brillouin laser, the observed soliton microcomb exhibits narrow-linewidth comb lines and stable repetition rate even by using a diode laser with relatively broad linewidth. Also, we demonstrate a low-noise …
The dynamics of cascaded-order Brillouin lasers make them ideal for applications such as rotation sensing, highly coherent optical communications, and low-noise microwave signal synthesis. Remark- ably, when implemented at the chip-scale, recent experimental studies have revealed that Brillouin lasers can operate in the fundamental linewidth regime where optomechanical and quantum noise sources dominate. To explore new opportunities for enhanced performance, we formulate a simple model to describe the physics of cascaded Brillouin lasers based on the coupled mode dynamics governed by electrost…
We demonstrate that the implementation of phase-locked loop forbidding multimode operation of a long Brillouin resonator also leads to a dramatic reduction of the optical phase noise of the pump itself. In the case of a continuous Er,Yb:glass laser, a reduction by more than 90 dB at 100 Hz of the carrier is observed. This yields an optical linewidth estimated narrower than 2 Hz for the pump laser. The method being independent of the laser wavelength, it can be applied to almost any laser.
Ultralow noise, yet tunable lasers are a revolutionary tool in precision spectroscopy, displacement measurements at the standard quantum limit, and the development of advanced optical atomic clocks. Further applications include LIDAR, coherent communications, frequency synthesis, and precision sensors of strain, motion, and temperature. While all applications benefit from lower frequency noise, many also require a laser that is robust and compact. Here, we introduce a dual-microcavity laser that leverages one chip-integrable silica microresonator to generate tunable 1550 nm laser light via sti…
Optical vortices, which have been extensively studied over the last decades, offer an additional degree of freedom useful in many applications, such as optical tweezers and quantum control. Stimulated Brillouin scattering, providing a narrow linewidth and a strong nonlinear response, has been used to realise quasi-continuous wave (CW) lasers. Here, we report stable oscillation of optical vortices and acoustic modes in a Brillouin laser based on chiral photonic crystal fibre, which robustly supports helical Bloch modes (HBMs) that carry circularly-polarized optical vortex and display circular b…
Ultrastable lasers serve as the backbone for some of the most advanced scientific experiments today and enable the ability to perform atomic spectroscopy and laser interferometry at the highest levels of precision possible. With the recent and increasing interest in applying these systems outside of the laboratory, it remains an open question as how to realize a laser source that can reach the extraordinary levels of narrow linewidth required and yet still remain sufficiently compact and portable for field use. Critical to the development of this ideal laser source is the necessity for the las…
Brillouin-Mandelstam Scattering-based Cooling of Traveling Acoustic Waves from Cryogenic Temperatures
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light（马克斯·普朗克光科学研究所）；Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg（埃尔朗根-纽伦堡大学）；Leibniz Universität Hannover（汉诺威莱布尼茨大学）；Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes（雷恩化学科学研究所）；University of Rennes（雷恩大学）
We theoretically investigate the cooling of a propagating phonon through Brillouin scattering. To that end, we propose to introduce an external viscous force using Brillouin scattering and an electro-optic feedback. Short delays feedback show an efficient control of the Brillouin linewidth whereas long delays can induce Fano-like resonances.
Parameter regulations of narrow-linewidth fiber lasers in frequency domain has drawn considerable interests for widespread applications in the light quantum computing, precise coherent detection, and generation of micro-waves. All-optical methods provide compact, precise and fast accesses to achieving these lasers with wavelength-tunability. Here, the optical-thermal effects of graphene is utilized to precisely control operations of free-running lasers with a tuning speed of 140 MHz/ms. Assisted by the single-longitude-mode operation and linewidth suppression of stimulated Brillouin backscatte…
Octave Spanning Visible to SWIR Integrated Coil-Stabilized Brillouin Lasers
University of California Santa Barbara（加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校）；National Institute of Standards and Technology（美国国家标准与技术研究院）；University of Colorado, Boulder（科罗拉多大学博尔德分校）；University of Massachusetts Amherst（马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校）
Brillouin laser oscillators offer powerful and flexible dynamics as the basis for mode-locked lasers, microwave oscillators, and optical gyroscopes in a variety of optical systems. However, Brillouin interactions are exceedingly weak in conventional silicon photonic waveguides, stifling progress towards silicon-based Brillouin lasers. The recent advent of hybrid photonic-phononic waveguides has revealed Brillouin interactions to be one of the strongest and most tailorable nonlinearities in silicon. Here, we harness these engineered nonlinearities to demonstrate Brillouin lasing in silicon. Mor…
State Key Laboratory of Extreme Photonics and Instrumentation, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University（浙江大学光学工程學院极端光子与仪器国家重点实验室）；ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University（浙江大学紫金港全球科创中心）；Laboratory of Infrared Material and Devices, Advanced Technology Research Institute, Ningbo University（宁波大学先进技术研究研究院红外材料与器件实验室）；Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University（山西大学极端光学协同创新中心）
Narrow linewidth visible light lasers are critical for atomic, molecular and optical (AMO) applications including atomic clocks, quantum computing, atomic and molecular spectroscopy, and sensing. Historically, such lasers are implemented at the tabletop scale, using semiconductor lasers stabilized to large optical reference cavities. Photonic integration of high spectral-purity visible light sources will enable experiments to increase in complexity and scale. Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) is a promising approach to realize highly coherent on-chip visible light laser emission. While pro…
Stimulated Brillouin scattering drives a coherent interaction between optical signals and acoustic phonons and this effect can be used for storing optical information in acoustic waves. An important consideration arises when multiple optical frequencies are simultaneously employed in the Brillouin process: in this case the acoustic phonons that are addressed by each optical wavelength can be separated by frequencies far smaller than the acoustic phonon linewidth, potentially leading to crosstalk between the optical modes. Here we extend the concept of Brillouin-based light storage to multiple …
Stimulated Brillouin scattering provides optical gain for efficient and narrow-linewidth lasers in high-Q microresonator systems. However, the thermal dependence of the Brillouin process, as well as the microresonator, impose strict temperature control requirements for long-term frequency-stable operation. Here, we study Brillouin back action and use it to both measure and phase-sensitively lock modal temperature to a reference temperature defined by the Brillouin phase-matching condition. At a specific lasing wavelength, the reference temperature can be precisely set by adjusting resonator fr…
By focusing on a typical emitting wavelength of 1120 nm as an example, we present the first demonstration of a high-efficiency, narrow-linewidth kilowatt-level all-fiber amplifier based on hybrid ytterbium-Raman (Yb-Raman) gains. Notably, two temporally stable, phase-modulated single-frequency lasers operating at 1064 nm and 1120nm, respectively, were applied in the fiber amplifier, to alleviate the spectral broadening of the 1120 signal laser and suppress the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) effect simultaneously. Over 1 kW narrow-linewidth 1120 nm signal laser was obtained with a slope …
Owing to their highly coherent emission and compact form factor, Brillouin lasers have been identified as a valuable asset for applications including portable atomic clocks, precision sensors, coherent microwave synthesis and energy-efficient approaches to coherent communications. While the fundamental emission linewidth of these lasers can be very narrow, noise within dielectric materials leads to drift in the carrier frequency, posing vexing challenges for applications requiring ultra-stable emission. A unified understanding of Brillouin laser performance may provide critical insights to rea…
Modern fiber-optic coherent communications employ advanced spectrally-efficient modulation formats that require sophisticated narrow linewidth local oscillators (LOs) and complex digital signal processing (DSP). Here, we establish a novel approach to carrier recovery harnessing large-gain stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) on a photonic chip for up to 116.82 Gbit/sec self-coherent optical signals, eliminating the need for a separate LO. In contrast to SBS processing on-fiber, our solution provides phase and polarization stability while the narrow SBS linewidth allows for a record-breaking s…
Phase conjugated master oscillator fiber power amplifier
Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学杭州高等研究院）；Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院上海光学精密机械研究所）
Accurate recovery of the two linewidths hidden in laser beatnote statistics
School of Electronics, Peking University（北京大学电子学院）；State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University（华东师范大学精密光谱科学国家重点实验室）；International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University（北京大学物理学院量子材料国际中心）；National Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro and Nano Manufacture Technology（先进微纳制造技术全国重点实验室）；Hefei National Laboratory（合肥国家实验室）
We use theoretical analysis and numerical simulation to investigate the operation of a laser oscillating from gain supplied by stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in a microresonator. The interaction of the forward, backward, and density waves within the microresonator results in a set of coupled-mode equations describing both the laser's phase and amplitude evolution over time. Using this coupled-mode formalism, we investigate the performance of the SBS laser under noise perturbation and identify the fundamental parameters and their optimization to enable low-noise SBS operation. The intrin…
Ultra-Low-Noise Brillouin Hybrid Synthetic Laser for Sub-Hertz Lattice Clock Spectroscopy
University of California Santa Barbara（加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校）；JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Colorado, Boulder（JILA，美国国家标准与技术研究院和科罗拉多大学博尔德分校）；Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder（科罗拉多大学博尔德分校物理系）；Time and Frequency Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder（美国国家标准与技术研究院博尔德时分部）
Cryogenic temperatures are the prerequisite for many advanced scientific applications and technologies. The accurate determination of temperature in this range and at the submicrometer scale is, however, nontrivial. This is due to the fact that temperature reading in cryogenic conditions can be inaccurate due to optically induced heating. Here, we present an ultralow power, optical thermometry technique that operates at cryogenic temperatures. The technique exploits the temperature dependent linewidth broadening measured by resonant photoluminescence of a two level system, a germanium vacancy …
We frequency stabilize the output of a miniature stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) laser to rubidium atoms in a microfabricated cell to realize a laser system with frequency stability at the $10^{-11}$ level over seven decades in averaging time. In addition, our system has the advantages of robustness, low cost and the potential for integration that would lead to still further miniaturization. The SBS laser operating at 1560 nm exhibits a spectral linewidth of 820 Hz, but its frequency drifts over a few MHz on the 1 hour timescale. By locking the second harmonic of the SBS laser to the Rb …
Discrete Cavity Dynamics in Free-Space Brillouin Laser
Helmholtz-Institut Jena（亥姆霍兹耶拿研究所）；Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena（弗里德里希·席勒大学耶拿阿贝光子学中心）；Center for Advanced Laser Technology, Hebei University of Technology（河北工业大学先进激光技术研究中心）；Hebei Key Laboratory of Advanced Laser Technology and Equipment（河北省先进激光技术与装备重点实验室）；Collaborative Innovation Center for Diamond Laser Technology and Applications（金刚石激光技术与应用协同创新中心）；Theoretisch-Physikalisches Institut, Friedrich-Schiller-Universitat Jena（弗里德里希·席勒大学耶拿理论物理研究所）
