Ultralow Noise, Etalon Stabilized, 10-GHz Optical Frequency Comb Based on an SCOW Amplifier

A slab-coupled optical waveguide amplifier (SCOWA) is used to construct a 10-GHz harmonically mode-locked laser with an intra-cavity etalon that serves as a high-finesse spectral filter. The laser output is a frequency comb that is actively stabilized to the transmission peaks of the etalon through a Pound-Drever-Hall scheme. The linewidth of the individual comb-lines is similar to 1 kHz and the frequency instability < 300 kHz over 60 s. The output power exceeds 20 mW due to the high saturation power of the SCOWA. The residual timing jitter of the pulse-train is similar to 1.9 fs (1 Hz to 100 MHz). A much broader comb (similar to 10 nm) is generated after dispersion compensation of the cavity and the output pulses are compressible to < 1 ps. A comparison of the timing jitter of the all-anomalous dispersion and dispersion compensated cavities is presented along with a previous result with a similar architecture.