High-resolution wide-band optical frequency comb control using stimulated Brillouin scattering

Abstract

We introduce a technique to manipulate an optical frequency comb on a line-by-line basis using stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). The narrow-linewidth SBS process has been used to address individual lines in optical frequency combs, but previous demonstrations required a dedicated laser to modulate each comb tooth, prohibiting complete comb control. Here, we use a pair of frequency shifting fiber optic loops to generate both an optical frequency comb and a train of frequency-locked pulses that can be used to manipulate the comb via SBS. This approach enables control of the entire frequency comb using a single seed laser without active frequency locking. To demonstrate the versatility of this technique, we generate and manipulate a comb consisting of 50 lines with 200 MHz spacing. By using polarization pulling assisted SBS, we achieve a modulation depth of 30 dB. This represents a scalable approach to control large numbers of comb teeth with high resolution using standard fiber-optic components.