Spatiotemporal dynamics of Kerr-Raman optical frequency combs

Abstract

Optical frequency combs generated with ultrahigh-$Q$ whispering-gallery-mode resonators are expected to provide a compact, versatile, and energy-efficient source for the generation of coherent lightwave and microwave signals. So far, Kerr and Raman nonlinearities in these resonators have predominantly been investigated separately, even though both effects originate from the same third-order susceptibility. We present a spatiotemporal formalism for the theoretical understanding of these Kerr-Raman combs, which allows us to describe the complex interplay between both nonlinearities and all-order dispersion. These theoretical findings are successfully compared with experiments performed with ultrahigh-$Q$ calcium and magnesium fluoride resonators.