Improved stabilization of a 1.3 μm femtosecond optical frequency comb by use of a spectrally tailored continuum from a nonlinear fiber grating

We report significant enhancement (+24 dB) of the optical beat note between a 657 nm cw laser and the second-harmonic generation of the tailored continuum at 1314 mn generated with a femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser and a nonlinear fiber Bragg grating. The same continuum is used to stabilize the carrier-envelope offset frequency of the Cr:forsterite femtosecond laser and permits improved optical stabilization of the frequency comb from 1.0 to 2.2 mu m. Using a common optical reference at 657 mn, a relative fractional frequency instability of 2.0 X 10-15 is achieved between the repetition rates of Cr:forsterite and Ti:sapphire laser systems in 10 s averaging time. The fractional frequency offset between the optically stabilized frequency combs of the Cr:forsterite and Ti:sapphire lasers is +/-(0.024 +/- 6.1) X 10(-17). (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.