Spatial-mode-interaction-induced dispersive waves and their active tuning in microresonators

Citation:

Qi-Fan Yang, Xu Yi, Ki Youl Yang, and Kerry Vahala. 2016. “Spatial-mode-interaction-induced dispersive waves and their active tuning in microresonators.” Optica, 3, 10, Pp. 1132–1135.

Abstract:

The nonlinear propagation of optical pulses in dielectric waveguides and resonators induces a wide range of remarkable interactions. One example is dispersive-wave generation, the optical analog of Cherenkov radiation. These waves play an essential role in the fiber-optic spectral broadeners used in spectroscopy and metrology. Dispersive waves form when a soliton pulse begins to radiate power as a result of higher-order dispersion. Recently, dispersive-wave generation in microcavities has been reported by phase matching the waves to dissipative Kerr solitons. Here, it is shown that spatial mode interactions within a microcavity can be used to induce dispersive waves. The soliton self-frequency shift is also shown to enable fine tuning control of the dispersive-wave frequency. Both this mechanism and spatial mode interactions allow spectral control of these important waves in microresonators.