CW-pumped single-pass frequency comb generation by resonant optomechanical nonlinearity in dual-nanoweb fiber

Recent experiments in the field of strong optomechanical interactions have focused on either structures that are simultaneously optically and mechanically resonant, or photonic crystal fibers pumped by a laser intensity modulated at a mechanical resonant frequency of the glass core. Here, we report continuous-wave (CW) pumped self-oscillations of a fiber nanostructure that is only mechanically resonant. Since the mechanism has close similarities to stimulated Raman scattering by molecules, it has been named stimulated Raman-like scattering. The structure consists of two submicrometer thick glass membranes (nanowebs), spaced by a few hundred nanometers and supported inside a 12-cm-long capillary fiber. It is driven into oscillation by a CW pump laser at powers as low as a few milliwatts. As the pump power is increased above threshold, a comb of Stokes and anti-Stokes lines is generated, spaced by the oscillator frequency of similar to 6 MHz. An unprecedentedly high Raman-like gain of similar to 4 x 10(6) m(-1) W-1 is inferred after analysis of the experimental data. Resonant frequencies as high as a few hundred megahertz are possible through the use of thicker and less-wide webs, suggesting that the structure can find application in passive mode-locking of fiber lasers, optical frequency metrology, and spectroscopy. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America