Integrated optical frequency combs: new concepts, new materials, new applications (INCEPTION)

Include chemical sensing, timekeeping, distance measurement, exoplanet detection, LIDAR and wavelength-division multiplexing in photonic communications. Although many of these advancements were originally achieved using bulky systems, recent progress in nonlinear photonics in photonic integrated circuits (PICs) has opened the door to creating compact, portable, and robust comb devices, paving the way toward the use of OFCs in multiple applications.

The two principal investigators have been working in the past few years in Kerr and optomechanical OFCs, both theoretically and experimentally. In INCEPTION, we plan an ambitious though realistic program to continuing the advance in this field and position our group as a key scientific and technological node unique in Spain in this OFCs on PICs. To do so, we will use the theoretical and modeling knowledge created during recent years by Carles Milián as well as the photonic technology developed at the NTC under the supervision of Alejandro Martínez and will work towards the improvement of current devices (mainly based on silicon nitride for Kerr combs and silicon for optomechanical combs) in three different frontlines: developing new methods, expanding the dimensionality of the devices and using new materials (in particular, silicon carbide and lithium niobate). We expect that the realization of the INCEPTION activities will unveil new scientific phenomena and enable disruptive applications of OFCs in PICs.