Spatiotemporal Lugatio-Lefever formalism for Kerr-comb generation in whispering-gallery-mode resonators

Yanne Kouomou Chembo (1) , Curtis R. Menyuk (2)

1 FEMTO-ST - Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174)
2 Department of Computer Science [College Park]

We demonstrate that frequency (Kerr) comb generation in whispering-gallery-mode resonators can be modeled by a variant of the Lugiato-Lefever equation that includes higher-order dispersion and nonlinearity. This spatiotemporal model allows us to explore pulse formation in which a large number of modes interact cooperatively. Pulse formation is shown to play a critical role in comb generation, and we find conditions under which single pulses (dissipative solitons) and multiple pulses (rolls) form. We show that a broadband comb is the spectral signature of a dissipative soliton, and we also show that these solitons can be obtained by using a weak anomalous dispersion and subcritical pumping.

Domaines: Optique / photonique; Optique [physics.optics]

Yanne Kouomou Chembo, Curtis R. Menyuk. Spatiotemporal Lugatio-Lefever formalism for Kerr-comb generation in whispering-gallery-mode resonators. Physical Review A : Atomic, molecular, and optical physics [1990-2015], 2013, 87, pp.053852. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevA.87.053852⟩. ⟨hal-00932433⟩