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Light, science & applications
Dec 23, 2020;9 (1): 204.

Coherent suppression of backscattering in optical microresonators.

Andreas Ø Svela, Jonathan M Silver, Leonardo Del Bino, Shuangyou Zhang, Michael T M Woodley, Michael R Vanner, Pascal Del'Haye
Author Information
  1. Andreas Ø Svela: National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, TW11 0LW, UK. asvela@ic.ac.uk.
  2. Jonathan M Silver: National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, TW11 0LW, UK. ORCID
  3. Leonardo Del Bino: National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, TW11 0LW, UK.
  4. Shuangyou Zhang: National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, TW11 0LW, UK.
  5. Michael T M Woodley: National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, TW11 0LW, UK.
  6. Michael R Vanner: Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
  7. Pascal Del'Haye: National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, TW11 0LW, UK. pascal.delhaye@mpl.mpg.de. ORCID
PMID: 33353941 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-020-00440-2

Abstract

As light propagates along a waveguide, a fraction of the field can be reflected by Rayleigh scatterers. In high-quality-factor whispering-gallery-mode microresonators, this intrinsic backscattering is primarily caused by either surface or bulk material imperfections. For several types of microresonator-based experiments and applications, minimal backscattering in the cavity is of critical importance, and thus, the ability to suppress backscattering is essential. We demonstrate that the introduction of an additional scatterer into the near field of a high-quality-factor microresonator can coherently suppress the amount of backscattering in the microresonator by more than 30 dB. The method relies on controlling the scatterer position such that the intrinsic and scatterer-induced backpropagating fields destructively interfere. This technique is useful in microresonator applications where backscattering is currently limiting the performance of devices, such as ring-laser gyroscopes and dual frequency combs, which both suffer from injection locking. Moreover, these findings are of interest for integrated photonic circuits in which back reflections could negatively impact the stability of laser sources or other components.

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Grants

  1. MR/S032924/1/Medical Research Council
  2. GA-2015-713694/EC | EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020 | H2020 Priority Excellent Science | H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (H2020 Excellent Science - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions)
Journal Article
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