Self-stabilized soliton generation in a microresonator through mode-pulled Brillouin lasing

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Quantum Optics
• Microcavity Devices

Background:

• Miniaturizing soliton microcombs is challenging due to complex startup and maintenance requirements.
• External operating systems add to the bulk and complexity of current soliton microcomb technology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally investigate a self-stabilized soliton generation process.
• To simplify the initiation and sustainment of soliton states in microcombs.
• To enable deterministic generation of single-soliton pulses without external feedback.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a continuous-wave pump detuned to the thermally stable blue side of a resonance.
• Employed intracavity mode-coupling to transfer pump power to soliton pulses.
• Used a simple setup with a free-running laser and a microcavity featuring internal thermal locking.

Main Results:

• Deterministic generation of single-soliton pulses with an 11 GHz repetition rate was achieved.
• The generated single-soliton pulses were passively maintained for several days.
• Excellent phase noise performance of -137 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz was demonstrated.

Conclusions:

• A novel, self-stabilized soliton generation method eliminates the need for external feedback systems.
• This approach significantly reduces the complexity for initiating and maintaining soliton states in microcombs.
• The demonstrated technique is crucial for the full miniaturization of soliton microcomb devices.