Monolithic frequency comb platform based on interband cascade lasers and detectors

Abstract

Optical frequency combs enable all-solid-state spectrometers that will\ntrigger a breakthrough in miniaturization and on-chip integration of\nmid-infrared sensing technology. Interband cascade lasers (ICLs) are an ideal\ncandidate for practical implementations due to their low power consumption and\nzero-bias detection functionality. Here, we demonstrate the generation of\nself-starting ICL frequency combs. We show that the gain is fast enough to\nrespond to beating of the intracavity field, which hinders the formation of\nshort pulses. Instead, the ICL operates in a comb state, where the phases of\nthe fundamental intermode beatings are splayed over a range of $2\\pi$. This\nstate appears to be general to self-starting combs based on the inherent gain\nnonlinearity and minimizes oscillations of the population inversion. Using the\nsame epi-layer material, we demonstrate efficient detector operation at room\ntemperature up to several GHz bandwidth and thereby provide a complete and\nunmatched platform for monolithic and battery driven dual-comb spectroscopy.\n