Narrow linewidth comb realized with a mode-locked fiber laser using an intra-cavity waveguide electro-optic modulator for highspeed control

We have developed an optical frequency comb using a mode-locked fiber ring laser with an intra-cavity waveguide electro-optic modulator controlling the optical length in the laser cavity. The mode-locking is achieved with a simple ring configuration and a nonlinear polarization rotation mechanism. The beat note between the laser and a reference laser and the carrier envelope offset frequency of the comb were simultaneously phase locked with servo bandwidths of 1.3 MHz and 900 kHz, respectively. We observed an out-of-loop beat between two identical combs, and obtained a coherent delta-function peak with a signal to noise ratio of 70 dB/Hz. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America