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Updated: Jun 12, 2026
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Rapid Repetition Rate Fluctuation Measurement of Soliton Crystals in a Microresonator
Published on: December 15, 2021
Overcoming the thermo-refractive noise limit for a full-spectrum Hertz-linewidth microcomb
Chao Zhou1, Runlin Miao2, Pan Han3
1College of Computer Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China.
Nature Communications
|June 10, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a new cascaded microcomb architecture overcoming limitations in precision measurement. This design decouples functions, achieving ultra-narrow linewidths and high repetition rates for advanced applications.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Optical Engineering
- Quantum Metrology
Background:
- Chip-scale microcombs are vital for precision measurements and coherent communications.
- Current self-injection locking (SIL) methods face a trade-off between repetition rate and linewidth due to thermo-refractive noise (TRN).
Purpose of the Study:
- To overcome the coherence ceiling imposed by TRN in microcombs.
- To achieve high repetition rates and ultra-narrow linewidths simultaneously.
Main Methods:
- Implemented a cascaded architecture decoupling comb generation and noise suppression.
- Utilized SIL for soliton comb generation and optical injection locking with a fiber delay for linewidth reduction.
Main Results:
- Achieved a 100-GHz microcomb with uniform 3-15 Hz Lorentzian linewidths.
- Demonstrated noise suppression of approximately 70 dB.
- Successfully decoupled repetition rate definition and linewidth narrowing.
Conclusions:
- The cascaded architecture transcends the repetition rate-linewidth trade-off.
- This modular design enables scalable, coherent microcombs for next-generation metrology, sensing, and communications.
