Simple single-section diode frequency combs
Matthew W. Day, Mark Dong, Bradley C. Smith, Rachel C. Owen, Grace C. Kerber, Taigao Ma, Herbert G. Winful, Steven T. Cundiff
Abstract
Frequency combs, broadband light sources whose spectra consist of coherent, discrete modes, have become essential in many fields. Miniaturizing frequency combs would be a significant advance in these fields, enabling the deployment of frequency-comb based devices for diverse measurement and spectroscopy applications. We demonstrate diode-laser based frequency comb generators. These laser diodes are simple, electrically pumped, inexpensive, and readily manufactured. Each chip contains several dozen diode-laser combs. We measure the time-domain output of a diode frequency comb to reveal the underlying frequency dynamics responsible for the comb spectrum, conduct dual comb spectroscopy of a molecular gas with two devices on the same chip, and demonstrate that these combs can be battery powered by showing the output spectrum of a battery-operated device.