Gain-switched semiconductor laser driven soliton microcombs

Wenle Weng (), Aleksandra Kaszubowska-Anandarajah, Jijun He, Prajwal D. Lakshmijayasimha, Erwan Lucas, Junqiu Liu, Prince M. Anandarajah () and Tobias J. Kippenberg ()
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Wenle Weng: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Aleksandra Kaszubowska-Anandarajah: Trinity College Dublin
Jijun He: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Prajwal D. Lakshmijayasimha: Dublin City University
Erwan Lucas: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Junqiu Liu: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Prince M. Anandarajah: Dublin City University
Tobias J. Kippenberg: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Dissipative Kerr soliton generation using self-injection-locked III-V lasers has enabled fully integrated hybrid microcombs that operate in turnkey mode and can access microwave repetition rates. Yet, continuous-wave-driven soliton microcombs exhibit low energy conversion efficiency and high optical power threshold, especially when the repetition frequencies are within the microwave range that is convenient for direct detection with off-the-shelf electronics. Here, by actively switching the bias current of injection-locked III-V semiconductor lasers with switching frequencies in the X-band and K-band microwave ranges, we pulse-pump both crystalline and integrated microresonators with picosecond laser pulses, generating soliton microcombs with stable repetition rates and lowering the required average pumping power by one order of magnitude to a record-setting level of a few milliwatts. In addition, we unveil the critical role of the phase profile of the pumping pulses, and implement phase engineering on the pulsed pumping scheme, which allows for the robust generation and the stable trapping of solitons on intracavity pulse pedestals. Our work leverages the advantages of the gain switching and the pulse pumping techniques, and establishes the merits of combining distinct compact comb platforms that enhance the potential of energy-efficient chipscale microcombs.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21569-7

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