Cross modulation-based opto-electronic oscillator with tunable electro-optic optical whispering gallery mode resonator

• US 7,801,189 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2008
• Issued: 09/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oewaves Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Oewaves Incorporated
• Inventors: Matsko, Andrey B., Ilchenko, Vladimir, Savchenkov, Anatoliy, Maleki, Lutfollah
• Primary Examiner(s): Harvey; Minsun
• Assistant Examiner(s): Carter; Michael
• Application Number:
  US12/270,839
• Publication Number:
  US 20090135860A1
• Time in Patent Office: 677 Days
• Field of Search: 372/18, 372/20, 372 2- 28, 372/29.011, 372/326, 359245-247, 359/239, 385/2, 385/8
• US Class Current: 372/26
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/29341 Loop resonators operating in a whispering gallery mode evanescently coupled to a light guide, e.g. sphere or disk or cylinder evanescent coupling for sensing fluorescence G01N21/648
• 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 3/1305 Feedback control systems
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/137 for stabilising of frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0656 Seeding, i.e. an additional light input is provided for controlling the laser modes, for example by back-reflecting light from an external optical component H01S5/14, H01S5/4062 and H01S5/4006 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0687 Stabilising the frequency of the laser
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/1075 Disk lasers with special modes, e.g. whispering gallery lasers

Abstract

Examples and implementations of photonic devices and techniques based on whispering gallery mode resonators formed of electro-optic materials to effectuate cross modulation between whispering gallery modes of different polarizations in the resonators.

Claims

1. A photonic device, comprising:

a laser that is tunable and produces a laser beam at a laser frequency;

an optical resonator exhibiting an electro-optic effect and structured to support whispering gallery modes circulating in the optical resonator in two mutually orthogonal polarizations and being optically coupled to the laser to receive a portion of the laser beam into the optical resonator;

a laser locking mechanism to lock the laser frequency with respect to a whispering gallery mode resonance of the optical resonator;

an evanescent optical coupler that evanescently couples the laser beam into the optical resonator and evanescently couples the light inside the optical resonator out of the optical resonator to produce resonator output light;

electrodes formed on the optical resonator to apply a modulation control signal to effectuate an optical modulation of light based on the electro-optic effect;

an optical detector to receive a portion of light from the laser that does not enter the optical resonator and at least a portion of the resonator output light;

a polarization control mechanism to control polarizations of the portion of light from the laser that does not enter the optical resonator and the portion of the resonator output light to allow light in the two mutually orthogonal polarizations to interfere at the optical detector to produce a single modulation sideband corresponding to one of the two mutually orthogonal polarizations; and

a feedback circuit coupled between the optical detector and the electrodes to receive a detector output from the optical detector and to produce the modulation control signal at a tunable modulation frequency.

2. The device as in claim 1, wherein:

the laser locking mechanism comprises a Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) stabilization module that locks the laser.

3. The device as in claim 1, wherein:

the laser locking mechanism is a injection locking mechanism that feeds light inside the optical resonator back into the laser to lock the laser.

4. The device as in claim 1, wherein:

the polarization control mechanism comprises;

an optical splitter located in an optical path between the laser and the evanescent optical coupler and the laser to split the laser beam from the laser into a first portion along a first optical path directing the first portion away from the evanescent coupler and a second portion along a second optical path leading to the evanescent optical coupler;

a first optical polarization device in the first optical path to rotate polarization of the first portion by 90 degrees;

a second optical polarization device in an optical path of the resonator output light from the evanescent optical coupler to transmit light in a polarization that is parallel to the polarization of light output by the first optical polarization device; and

an optical combiner that combines the light from the first optical polarization device and the second optical polarization device to produce combined light that enters the optical detector.

5. The device as in claim 1, wherein:

the polarization control mechanism comprises;

a first optical polarization controller located in an optical path between the laser and the evanescent optical coupler to set polarization of the laser light entering the optical resonator at 45 degrees with respect either one of the two mutually orthogonal polarizations supported by the optical resonator; and

a second optical polarization controller located in an optical path between the optical detector and the evanescent optical coupler.

6. The device as in claim 1, wherein:

the optical resonator is made of lithium niobate.

7. The device as in claim 1, wherein:

the optical resonator is made of lithium tantalite.

8. The device as in claim 1, wherein:

the electrodes formed on the optical resonator comprise electrodes that receive the modulation control signal for optical modulation and a DC bias electrode to apply a DC bias voltage to tune the optical resonator.

9. The device as in claim 1, wherein:

the laser is a semiconductor laser.

10. A photonic device, comprising:

a laser that is tunable and produces a laser beam at a laser frequency;

an electrically controllable optical modulator to receive the laser beam and to modulate the laser beam to produce a modulated laser beam, the optical modulator comprising an optical resonator exhibiting an electro-optic effect and structured to support whispering gallery modes circulating in the optical resonator in two mutually orthogonal polarizations and being optically coupled to the laser to receive a portion of the laser beam into the optical resonator, and electrodes formed on the optical resonator to apply a modulation control signal to effectuate an optical modulation of light based on the electro-optic effect;

an active opto-electronic feedback loop that comprises an optical part coupled to the optical resonator to receive the modulated laser beam and an electrical part that produces the modulation control signal, and an optical detector coupled between the optical part and the electrical part, the opto-electronic feedback loop feeding the modulation control signal in phase to the electrodes on the optical resonator to generate and sustain both optical modulation and electrical oscillation at the modulation frequency of the modulator; and

a polarization control mechanism to control polarization of light received at the optical detector to allow light in the two mutually orthogonal polarizations to interfere at the optical detector to produce a single modulation sideband so that a modulation frequency of the modulator at a difference between frequencies of whispering gallery modes at the two mutually orthogonal polarizations inside the optical resonator.

11. The device as in claim 10, wherein:

the optical resonator is made of lithium niobate.

12. The device as in claim 10, wherein:

the optical resonator is made of lithium tantalite.

13. The device as in claim 10, wherein:

the electrodes formed on the optical resonator comprise electrodes that receive the modulation control signal for optical modulation and a DC bias electrode to apply a DC bias voltage to tune the optical resonator.

14. The device as in claim 10, wherein:

the laser is locked to a whispering gallery mode resonance of the optical resonator.

15. A method for operating an electro-opto oscillator having an electrically controllable optical modulator comprising an optical resonator exhibiting an electro-optic effect and structured to support whispering gallery modes circulating in the optical resonator in two mutually orthogonal polarizations, comprising:

providing an active opto-electronic feedback loop that comprises an optical part coupled to the optical resonator to receive a modulated laser beam from the optical modulator and an electrical part that produces the modulation control signal, and an optical detector coupled between the optical part and the electrical part;

operating the opto-electronic feedback loop to feed the modulation control signal in phase to electrodes on the optical resonator to generate and sustain both optical modulation and electrical oscillation at a modulation frequency of the modulator; and

controlling polarization of light received at the optical detector to obtain a single modulation sideband in the output of the optical detector to set the modulation frequency of the modulator at a difference between frequencies of whispering gallery modes at the two mutually orthogonal polarizations inside the optical resonator.