Non-resonant optical injection locking in quantum cascade laser frequency combs

Optical injection locking of the repetition frequency of a quantum cascade laser frequency comb is demonstrated using intensity modulated near-infrared light at 1.55 µm, illuminating the front facet of the laser. Compared to the traditional electrical modulation approach, the introduced technique pr...

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Main Authors: Alexandre Parriaux, Kenichi N. Komagata, Mathieu Bertrand, Mattias Beck, Valentin J. Wittwer, Jérôme Faist, Thomas Südmeyer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIP Publishing LLC 2025-06-01
Series:APL Photonics
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0253292
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author Alexandre Parriaux
Kenichi N. Komagata
Mathieu Bertrand
Mattias Beck
Valentin J. Wittwer
Jérôme Faist
Thomas Südmeyer
author_facet Alexandre Parriaux
Kenichi N. Komagata
Mathieu Bertrand
Mattias Beck
Valentin J. Wittwer
Jérôme Faist
Thomas Südmeyer
author_sort Alexandre Parriaux
collection DOAJ
description Optical injection locking of the repetition frequency of a quantum cascade laser frequency comb is demonstrated using intensity modulated near-infrared light at 1.55 µm, illuminating the front facet of the laser. Compared to the traditional electrical modulation approach, the introduced technique presents benefits from several perspectives, such as the availability of mature and high bandwidth equipment in the near-infrared, circumvents the need for dedicated electronic components for the quantum cascade laser, and allows a direct link between the near and mid-infrared for amplitude to frequency modulation. We show that this stabilization scheme, used with moderate near-infrared power of a few milliwatts, allows for a strong reduction of the frequency noise. We also perform a full characterization of the mechanism and provide evidence that the locking range follows Adler’s law. A comparison of our results with those in recent literature indicates that the optical approach leads to better performance compared to the traditional method, which we expect to benefit mid-infrared spectroscopy and metrological applications.
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issn 2378-0967
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spelling doaj-art-cc375e8bd4df45b699a3f03be9b128642025-08-20T03:14:57ZengAIP Publishing LLCAPL Photonics2378-09672025-06-01106066113066113-810.1063/5.0253292Non-resonant optical injection locking in quantum cascade laser frequency combsAlexandre Parriaux0Kenichi N. Komagata1Mathieu Bertrand2Mattias Beck3Valentin J. Wittwer4Jérôme Faist5Thomas Südmeyer61Laboratoire Temps-Fréquence, Institut de Physique, Université de Neuchâtel, Avenue de Bellevaux 51, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland1Laboratoire Temps-Fréquence, Institut de Physique, Université de Neuchâtel, Avenue de Bellevaux 51, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland2Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH Zurich, Auguste-Piccard-Hof 1, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland2Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH Zurich, Auguste-Piccard-Hof 1, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland1Laboratoire Temps-Fréquence, Institut de Physique, Université de Neuchâtel, Avenue de Bellevaux 51, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland2Institute for Quantum Electronics, ETH Zurich, Auguste-Piccard-Hof 1, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland1Laboratoire Temps-Fréquence, Institut de Physique, Université de Neuchâtel, Avenue de Bellevaux 51, 2000 Neuchâtel, SwitzerlandOptical injection locking of the repetition frequency of a quantum cascade laser frequency comb is demonstrated using intensity modulated near-infrared light at 1.55 µm, illuminating the front facet of the laser. Compared to the traditional electrical modulation approach, the introduced technique presents benefits from several perspectives, such as the availability of mature and high bandwidth equipment in the near-infrared, circumvents the need for dedicated electronic components for the quantum cascade laser, and allows a direct link between the near and mid-infrared for amplitude to frequency modulation. We show that this stabilization scheme, used with moderate near-infrared power of a few milliwatts, allows for a strong reduction of the frequency noise. We also perform a full characterization of the mechanism and provide evidence that the locking range follows Adler’s law. A comparison of our results with those in recent literature indicates that the optical approach leads to better performance compared to the traditional method, which we expect to benefit mid-infrared spectroscopy and metrological applications.http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0253292
spellingShingle Alexandre Parriaux
Kenichi N. Komagata
Mathieu Bertrand
Mattias Beck
Valentin J. Wittwer
Jérôme Faist
Thomas Südmeyer
Non-resonant optical injection locking in quantum cascade laser frequency combs
APL Photonics
title Non-resonant optical injection locking in quantum cascade laser frequency combs
title_full Non-resonant optical injection locking in quantum cascade laser frequency combs
title_fullStr Non-resonant optical injection locking in quantum cascade laser frequency combs
title_full_unstemmed Non-resonant optical injection locking in quantum cascade laser frequency combs
title_short Non-resonant optical injection locking in quantum cascade laser frequency combs
title_sort non resonant optical injection locking in quantum cascade laser frequency combs
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0253292
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