Active mode-locked lasers and other photonic devices using electro-optic whispering gallery mode resonators

• US 20040100675A1
• Filed: 10/20/2003
• Published: 05/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Matsko, Andrey B., Ilchenko, Vladimir, Savchenkov, Anatoliy, Maleki, Lutfollah
• Granted Patent: US 7,050,212 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/245
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/0604 in the form of a plate or disc
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/0627 the resonator being monolithic, e.g. microlaser
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/063 Waveguide lasers, i.e. whereby the dimensions of the waveguide are of the order of the light wavelength waveguide gas lasers H01S3/0315
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/094019 Side pumped fibre, whereby pump light is coupled laterally into the fibre via an optical component like a prism, or a grating, or via V-groove coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/0941 of a laser diode
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/107 using electro-optic devices, e.g. exhibiting Pockels or Kerr effect H01S3/1061, H01S3/1063, H01S3/1065 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/108 using non-linear optical devices, e.g. exhibiting Brillouin or Raman scattering mode locking using a non-linear element H01S3/1112
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/1109 Active mode locking
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/1608 erbium
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/1671 vanadate, niobate, tantalate

Abstract

Techniques and devices using whispering gallery mode (WGM) optical resonators, where the optical materials of the WGM resonators exhibit an electro-optical effect to perform optical modulation. Examples of actively mode-locked lasers and other devices are described.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

an optical resonator supporting whispering gallery modes and comprising an optical material which exhibits an electro-optical effect and an optical gain at a laser wavelength when optically pumped by light at a pump wavelength, said optical resonator to modulate light in response to a control electrical signal;

an optical coupler to couple a pump beam at said pump wavelength into a pump whispering gallery mode in said optical resonator to produce laser light in a laser whispering gallery mode at said laser wavelength; and

an electrical unit having electrodes formed on said optical resonator to apply said control electrical signal to said optical resonator to modulate said laser light to cause mode locking in said laser light to produce laser pulses.

2. The device as in claim 1, wherein said optical coupler comprises a prism coupler.

3. The device as in claim 1, wherein said optical coupler comprises a fiber coupler.

4. The device as in claim 1, wherein said optical coupler comprises a photonic bandgap material.

5. The device as in claim 1, further comprising a second optical coupler to couple said laser pulses out of said optical resonator to produce a pulsed laser output.

6. The device as in claim 5, wherein said second optical coupler includes a prism coupler.

7. The device as in claim 1, wherein said resonator is a sphere.

8. The device as in claim 1, wherein said optical resonator comprises a portion of a sphere.

9. The device as in claim 1, wherein said optical resonator has a non-spherical shape.

10. The device as in claim 9, wherein said optical resonator has a spheriodal shape.

11. The device as in claim 1, wherein said optical resonator has a disk shape.

12. The device as in claim 1, wherein said optical resonator has a ring shape.

13. The device as in claim 1, wherein said optical material includes LiNbO₃ and is doped with active ions which produce said optical gain.

14. The device as in claim 11, wherein said active ions comprise erbium.

15. The device as in claim 1, wherein said electrodes form an electrical resonator.

16. The device as in claim 1, wherein said electrical resonator has a resonant frequency substantially at a frequency difference between laser whispering gallery modes.

17. The device as in claim 1, wherein said optical resonator comprises:

a resonator core that exhibits said electro-optic effect and modulates light in response to the control electrical signal; and

an active layer formed on said resonator core to produce said optical gain at said laser wavelength and to produce said laser light.

18. The device as in claim 1, wherein said active layer is a layer doped with Erbium ions.

19. The device as in claim 18, wherein said active layer is a solgel layer.

20. A method, comprising:

providing a whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonator to exhibit both an electro-optic effect for optical modulation and an optical gain at a laser wavelength when optically pumped at a pump wavelength;

coupling pump light at the pump wavelength into the WGM resonator to generate laser light in a plurality of whispering gallery modes at the laser wavelength; and

applying an electrical control signal to the resonator to modulate the laser light and to lock the whispering gallery modes at the laser wavelength to produce laser pulses.

21. The method as in claim 20, further comprising using an electrical resonator formed on the WGM resonator to apply the electrical control signal.

22. The method as in claim 20, further comprising using a prism to couple the pump light into the WGM resonator.

23. The method as in claim 20, further comprising using a fiber coupler to couple the pump light into the WGM resonator.

24. The method as in claim 20, further comprising using a photonic gap material to couple the pump light into the WGM resonator.

25. A device, comprising:

an optical ring having a gain section to produce an optical gain at a laser wavelength and carrying laser light at the laser wavelength; and

an electro-optic modulator coupled in said optical ring to modulate the laser light in response to a modulator control signal, said modulator comprising a whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonator which exhibits an electro-optical effect, electrodes on said WGM resonator to receive the modulator control signal, and a controller to produce the modulator control signal.

26. The device as in claim 25, wherein said gain section comprises a semiconductor optical amplifier.

27. The device as in claim 25, wherein said gain section comprises an optical material that absorbs pump light at a pump wavelength to produce light at the laser wavelength.

28. The device as in claim 27, further comprising a pump coupler in said optical ring to couple the pump light into said gain section.

29. The device as in claim 27, wherein said gain section is a doped fiber amplifier.

30. The device as in claim 25, further comprising:

an optical coupler coupled in said optical ring to split a portion of the laser light in said optical ring;

an optical detector to convert light from said optical coupler into an electrical detector signal; and

an electrical section to receive and process the electrical detector signal to produce the modulator control signal.

31. The device as in claim 30, wherein a signal gain for a signal loop comprising said modulator, said optical coupler, said optical detector, and said electrical section is greater than a total signal loss in the signal loop.

32. The device as in claim 30, wherein said electrical section comprises an electrical amplifier which amplifies the modulator control signal.

33. The device as in claim 30, wherein said optical coupler directly delivers the portion of the laser light into said optical detector without an optical delay element between said optical coupler and said optical detector.

34. A device, comprising:

a ring laser comprising a ring loop with a first loop gain greater than optical loss in said ring loop to produce laser light;

a whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonator coupled in said ring laser to transmit the laser light from side of said WGM resonator to another side of said WGM resonator in said ring loop, said WGM resonator comprising an electro-optic material and operable to modulate the laser light in response to an electrical control signal;

an optical coupler in said ring fiber to split a fraction of the laser light to produce an optical feedback signal;

an optical detector to convert the optical feedback signal into a detector signal; and

an electrical section electrically coupled between said optical detector and said modulator to process said detector signal to produce the electrical control signal.

35. The device as in claim 34, wherein said ring loop is a fiber ring.

36. The device as in claim 34, wherein said WGM resonator exhibits a laser gain to produce the laser light in the ring laser.

37. A device, comprising:

a CW laser to produce a CW laser beam; and

an optical resonator supporting whispering gallery modes and comprising an optical material which exhibits an electro-optical effect, said optical resonator optically coupled to receive the CW laser beam and to modulate the CW laser beam in response to a control electrical signal to produce laser pulses that have a spectral comb formed by modulation bands produced by the modulation.