A Compact, Waveguide Based Programmable Optical Comb Generator

This NASA Phase I STTR effort will establish the feasibility of developing a compact broadband near to mid-IR programmable optical comb for use in laser based remote sensing and communications. The comb generator will use a waveguide-based optical parametric gain block technology that can have ultra wideband (>250nm) operation with very high gain (>25dB) in a very compact footprint. This approach is enabled by advances both in waveguide processing and in substrate growth, which allows for fabrication of complex waveguide structures to be formed in commercially available large-diameter nonlinear optical substrates. Optical comb sources are increasing the achievable sensitivity and system performance for a range of applications including gas sensing, optical communications, frequency metrology, precision spectroscopy and optical coherence tomography and thus directly addresses NASA's mission to advance remote sensing measurements to improve the scientific understanding of the Earth specified in 2009 STTR call: T4.01 Lidar, Radar and Passive Microwave.