Interdisciplinary advances in microcombs: Bridging physics and information technology
Written by Light Publishing Center, Changchun Optical Research Institute, Precision Mechanical Physics, CAS
Microcomb-based information application. In this review article, the authors mainly focus on microcoms in information technology, especially information distribution (e.g., optical microwave communications, left), information acquisition (e.g., LiDAR, center), and information processing (e.g., optical communications, right). We introduced the application of Credit: Bai-Cheng Yao, Wen-Ting Wang, Zhen-Da Xie, Qiang Zhou, Teng Tan, Heng Zhou, Guang-Can Guo, Shi-Ning Zhu, Ning-Hua Zhu, Chee Wei Wong
Researchers are excited about the potential of microcoms, small devices that produce precise time and frequency standards. These microcombs have the potential to revolutionize fields from high-speed communications and high-resolution measurements to precise atomic clocks.
Traditionally, frequency combs have been large and complex, but microcombs offer a compact and powerful alternative. It achieves this through the Kerr effect or optoelectronic modulation, where light interacts with nonlinear materials to generate a wide range of coherent frequencies.
Recent advances in microcomb design and control are opening the door to new approaches ranging from classical to quantum information applications.
eLight’s research review examines innovative advances in microcoms, from enhanced capabilities to exploring real-world scenarios. Microcombs have a wide range of applications. Acting as an information carrier, it can achieve versatile signal generation, synchronization, and increase data transmission speed.
To obtain information, precise spectroscopic analysis can be performed using a microcomb, making it possible to perform detailed analysis of molecules and materials, and is also expected to be used in medical image processing and astronomical observation. For information processing, microcombs can be ideal light sources for radio frequency processing, nonlinear transformations, and photonic computations.
Advanced methods for generating and controlling microcombs. (Top panel) For forming microcombs, recent advanced schemes have been developed, including turnkey operation based on laser injection synchronization, slingshot using fiber hybrid cavities, and Brillouin pumping. (Bottom panel) Scientists reported a strategy that included electrical, mechanical, and optical controls in adjusting the output of the microcomb. Credit: Bai-Cheng Yao, Wen-Ting Wang, Zhen-Da Xie, Qiang Zhou, Teng Tan, Heng Zhou, Guang-Can Guo, Shi-Ning Zhu, Ning-Hua Zhu, Chee Wei Wong
Finally, this review explores ways to expand the capabilities and improve performance of microcoms in the future, particularly potential breakthroughs in the trade-offs between power and efficiency, speed and density, stability and controllability. We are discussing.
This article outlines a roadmap for further exploration and development of microcomb technology, and how microcombs can potentially transform a variety of scientific and industrial fields, leading to a future shaped by precise control of light and information. It suggests that it brings us closer together.
Further information: Bai-Cheng Yao et al., Interdisciplinary advances in microcom: bridging physics and information technology, eLight (2024). DOI: 10.1186/s43593-024-00071-9
Provided by: Wright Publishing Center, Changchun Optical Research Institute, Precision Mechanical Physics, CAS
Citation: Interdisciplinary Advances in Microcombs: Bridging Physics and Information Technology (October 11, 2024) from https://phys.org/news/2024-10-interdisciplinary-advances-microcombs-bridging-physics.html Retrieved October 11, 2024
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