Erbium-doped-fiber-based broad visible range frequency comb with a 30 GHz mode spacing for astronomical applications

Abstract: Optical frequency combs have the potential to improve the precision of the radial velocity measurement of celestial bodies, leading to breakthroughs in such fields as exoplanet exploration. For these purposes, the comb must have a broad spectral coverage in the visible wavelength region, a wide mode spacing that can be resolved with a high dispersion spectrograph, and sufficient robustness to operate for long periods even in remote locations. We have realized a comb system with a 30 GHz mode spacing, 62 % available wavelength coverage in the visible region, and 40 dB spectral contrast by combining a robust erbium-doped-fiber-based femtosecond laser, mode filtering with newly designed optical cavities, and broadband-visible-range comb generation using a chirped periodically-poled LiNbO3 ridge waveguide. The system durability and reliability are also promising because of the stable spectrum, which is due to the use of almost all polarization-maintaining fiber optics, moderate optical power, and good frequency repeatability obtained with a wavelength-stabilized laser.