UCLA

Optical frequency combs have become a major source of innovation in a wide array of fields such as metrology, ultrafast optics, and light-matter interactions. Specifically, Kerr frequency combs have risen to the forefront of comb sources in applications requiring small size, light weight, and relatively low power consumption (SWaP). The design and generation of Kerr frequency combs at 1-micron and their application in frequency-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) and microwave generation are explored. Microresonators are designed in a silicon nitride platform to generate octave-spanning comb states. Then, various comb states are generated at this wavelength to explore comb dynamics, including stabilization. Platicon combs are also examined at 1600-nm. Finally, 1-µm Kerr frequency comb FD-OCT with comparable image quality to that of a traditional superluminescent diode FD-OCT is demonstrated with an effective axial resolution that approaches the theoretical limit.