Self-Seeded Programmable Parametric Fiber Comb Source

A prototype all-fiber, fast reconfigurable frequency comb source will be constructed. This system will be capable of arbitrary frequency grid synthesis, while providing true continuous wave (CW) response and sufficient power to support multiple feeds for general reference and clock provisioning is proposed. The proposed comb will be constructed entirely of off-the-shelf telecom components, which will form the backbone of athermal, compact signal generation. The model developed in Phase I will be extended to include polarization and transient effects. Components from different vendors will be evaluated. Fundamental design variations will be tested prior to final prototype design selection that will optimize power, bandwidth, signal-to-noise, reconfiguration speed and footprint.