Miniaturized optical microwave source using a dual-wavelength whispering gallery mode laser

Lei Xiao (1) , Stephane Trebaol (1) , Yannick Dumeige (1) , Zhiping P. Caï (2) , Michel Mortier (3) , Patrice Feron (1)

1 FOTON - Fonctions Optiques pour les Technologies de l'informatiON
2 Department of Physics, Xiamen University
3 LCMCP (site Paris VI) - Laboratoire de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Paris (site Paris VI)

We report on the observation of a compact optical microwave source based on a whispering gallery mode laser. The use of a single 160 µm diameter Erbium doped glass microsphere and two half fiber tapers allows a dual single mode laser emission around 1550 nm to be obtained. The generated beat note at 10,86 GHz has a linewidth of 22 kHz. This preliminary experimental demonstration shows the potentialities of Erbium doped whispering gallery mode resonators for microwave generation.

Keywords: Microresonators; Microwave generation; Lasers

Domains: Physics [physics]; Physics [physics]; Optics [physics.optics]

Lei Xiao, Stephane Trebaol, Yannick Dumeige, Zhiping P. Caï, Michel Mortier, et al.. Miniaturized optical microwave source using a dual-wavelength whispering gallery mode laser. IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 2010, 22 (8), pp.559-561. ⟨10.1109/LPT.2010.2040269⟩. ⟨hal-00474684⟩