EPSRC-SFI:Towards power efficient microresonator frequency combs

由成百上千条等间距窄共振线组成的光学频率梳在20世纪90年代被证明，他们的发现在2005年被授予诺贝尔奖。在过去的十年里，通过微谐振器技术的发展和对微谐振器频率梳-微梳的观察和开发，这一研究领域取得了显著的进展。对于光来说，微谐振器就像是微型跑道，光子绕着圆圈循环运动。无限的路径长度和小的占地面积是片上变频的关键优势。微梳作为一种颠覆性技术正在兴起，旨在实现可在小面积和芯片规模平台上实现的精确计量、光谱分析、波形合成和信息的光学处理。许多引人注目的应用例子之一来自天文研究，在那里梳子被用来搜索系外行星。巴斯大学和都柏林三一学院提出的这项研究计划旨在开发具有更高效率和灵活重复频率的下一代微谐振器系统，以推动梳状源的未来应用。该提案涉及英国EPSRC的光学设备和子系统、光-物质相互作用和光学现象、射频和微波设备以及非线性系统等研究领域。该项目的这些领域和具体研究任务有助于EPSRC取得富有成效、相互联系和有弹性的国家成果。在爱尔兰，该项目与国家优先领域未来网络、通信和物联网非常一致，后者明确寻求开发新型光子设备，为未来十年的通信系统提供动力，并不断提高能源效率。

Optical frequency combs consisting of hundreds and thousands of equally spaced narrow resonance lines have been demonstrated in the 1990s, and their discovery was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2005. In the past decade, this research field has witnessed outstanding progress through the development of microresonator technology and observation and exploitation of the microresonator frequency combs - microcombs. For light, microresonators act as miniature racetracks, with photons zipping around the circle in loops. The infinite path length and a small footprint are the key advantages of the on-chip frequency conversion. Microcombs are emerging as a disruptive technology for realizing precision metrology, spectroscopy, waveform synthesis and optical processing of information realisable in the small footprint and chip-scale platforms. One of many striking application examples comes from astronomical research, where combs were used to search for exoplanets. The research programme proposed by the University of Bath and Trinity College Dublin aims to develop the next generation of the microresonator systems with enhanced efficiency and flexible repetition rates to drive future applications of comb sources. The proposal cuts across the UK EPSRC research areas of Optical Devices and Subsystems; Light-Matter Interaction and Optical Phenomena; RF & Microwave Devices; and Nonlinear Systems. These areas and specific research tasks of the project contribute to the EPSRC Productive, Connected, and Resilient Nation Outcomes. In Ireland, the project aligns well with the National Priority area Future Networks, Communications and Internet of Things that explicitly seeks to develop novel photonic devices to power the communications systems of the coming decade with ever improving energy efficiency.