All-fiber bidirectional optical parametric oscillator for precision sensing

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Optical Engineering
• Precision Measurement and Sensing

Background:

• Optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) are crucial for generating tunable light sources.
• Existing OPO designs often require complex free-space alignment and external delay lines, limiting their practicality for robust sensing applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and demonstrate an all-fiber, synchronously pumped, bidirectional optical parametric oscillator (FOPO).
• To showcase the FOPO's capability for precision sensing applications, leveraging its unique design features.

Main Methods:

• Development of a synchronously pumped, bidirectional fiber-based OPO.
• Characterization of the generated dual frequency combs.
• Measurement of the beatnote linewidth between the two frequency combs.

Main Results:

• The FOPO successfully generated two frequency combs with identical repetition rates and different carrier offset frequencies.
• A narrow beatnote linewidth (<10 Hz FWHM) was achieved by overlapping the frequency combs.
• The all-fiber design eliminated the need for free-space alignment and external delay lines due to automatic delay compensation.

Conclusions:

• The novel all-fiber FOPO offers a simplified and robust platform for precision sensing.
• The demonstrated performance indicates significant potential for applications such as ultra-large area and high-sensitivity rotation sensing.