We demonstrate the first compact photonic flywheel with sub-fs time jitter (averaging times up to $10\mu \mathrm{s}$) at the quantum-noise limit of a monolithic fiber resonator. Such quantum-limited performance is accessed through novel two-step pumping scheme for dissipative Kerr soliton generation. Controllable interaction between stimulated Brillouin lasing and Kerr nonlinearity enhances the DKS coherence and mitigates the thermal instability challenge, achieving a remarkable 22-Hz intrinsic comb linewidth and an unprecedented phase noise of $-180\mathrm{dBc}/\mathrm{Hz}$ at 945-MHz carrier at free running. The scheme can be generalized to various device platforms for field-deployable precision metrology.

Dissipative Kerr soliton (DKS) frequency combs—also known as microcombs—have arguably created a new field in cavity nonlinear photonics, with a strong cross-fertilization between theoretical, experimental, and technological research. Spatiotemporal mode-locking (STML) not only adds new degrees of freedom to ultrafast laser technology, but also provides new insights for implementing analogue computers and heuristic optimizers with photonics. Here, we combine the principles of DKS and STML to demonstrate the STML DKS by developing an unexplored ultrahigh-quality-factor Fabry–Pérot (FP) mesoresonator based on graded index multimode fiber (GRIN-MMF). Complementing the two-step pumping scheme with a cavity stress tuning method, we can selectively excite either the eigenmode DKS or the STML DKS. Furthermore, we demonstrate an ultralow noise microcomb that enhances the photonic flywheel performance in both the fundamental comb linewidth and DKS timing jitter. The demonstrated fundamental comb linewidth of 400 mHz and DKS timing jitter of 500 attosecond (averaging times up to 25 μs) represent improvements of 25× and 2.5×, respectively, from the state-of-the-art. Our results show the potential of GRIN-MMF FP mesoresonators as an ideal testbed for high-dimensional nonlinear cavity dynamics and photonic flywheel with ultrahigh coherence and ultralow timing jitter.

Optical frequency combs in microresonators (microcombs) have a wide range of applications in science and technology, due to its compact size and access to considerably larger comb spacing. Despite recent successes, the problems of self-starting, high mode efficiency as well as high output power have not been fully addressed for conventional soliton microcombs. Recent demonstration of laser cavity soliton microcombs by nesting a microresonator into a fiber cavity, shows great potential to solve the problems. Here we study the dissipative soliton generation and interaction dynamics in a microresonator-filtered fiber laser in both theory and experiment. We bring theoretical insight into the mode-locking principle, discuss the parameters effect on soliton properties, and provide experimental guidelines for broadband soliton generation. We predict chirped bright dissipative soliton with flat-top spectral envelope in microresonators with normal dispersion, which is fundamentally forbidden for the externally driven case. Furthermore, we experimentally achieve soliton microcombs with large bandwidth of ~10 nm and high mode efficiency of 90.7%. Finally, by taking advantage of an ultrahigh-speed time magnifier, we study the real-time soliton formation and interaction dynamics and experimentally observe soliton Newton’s cradle. Our study will benefit the design of the novel, high-efficiency and self-starting microcombs for real-world applications.

High frequency microwave, spanning up to terahertz frequency, is pivotal for next-generation communication, sensing and radar. However, it faces fundamental noise limitations when frequency is pushed towards such boundary of conventional electronic technologies. Photonic microwave generation, particularly Kerr-comb-based microwave source, benefits from high frequency operation but still suffers from phase noise constraints. Here we overcome this drawback by developing a compact, electrically-driven Kerr comb system that achieves near quantum-limited phase noise for microwave synthesis up to 384 GHz. Leveraging high-Q fiber Fabry-Perot resonators and optimized noise modeling under limited pump power, we demonstrate ultra-low phase noise performances of −133 dBc/Hz (10.1 GHz) and −95 dBc/Hz (300 GHz) at 10 kHz offset, approaching quantum noise limits. This breakthrough enables 64QAM modulation in terahertz wireless communication and record 240 Gbps data rate without need for carrier phase estimation. Our device can serve as a key building block for the future information technology.

Fiber components form the standard not only in modern telecommunication but also for future quantum information technology. For high-performance single-photon detection, superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SPDs) are typically fabricated on a silicon chip and fiber-coupled for easy handling and usage. The fiber-to-chip interface hinders the SPD from being an all-fiber device for full utilization of its excellent performance. Here, we report a scheme of SPD that is directly fabricated on the fiber tip. A bury-and-planar fabrication technique is developed to improve the roughness of the substrate for all-fiber detectors’ performance for single-photon detection with amorphous molybdenum silicide (MoSi) nanowires. The low material selectivity and universal planar process enable fabrication and packaging on a large scale. Such a detector responds to a broad wavelength range from 405 nm to 1550 nm at a dark count rate of 100 cps. The relaxation time of the response pulse is ~ 15 ns, which is comparable to that of on-chip SPDs. Therefore, this device is free from fiber-to-chip coupling and easy packaging for all-fiber quantum information systems.

Single longitudinal mode and single polarization are basic requirements of high performance fiber lasers, while their realizations are nontrivial, owing to the long laser cavity and lack of polarization selection of ordinary optical fibers. Here, we demonstrate an all-fiber narrow-linewidth laser realized on an external high-Q fiber ring, with combined functions of single-longitude-mode selection and linewidth reduction. A single-longitude-mode laser with a high polarization extinction ratio of ∼ 40 d B and low white frequency noise at 0.3 H z 2 / H z is achieved, corresponding to a fundamental linewidth of ∼ 0.92 H z . Using all non-polarization fiber components and ordinary gain fiber, our scheme shows the realization of narrow-linewidth single-polarization fiber lasers in a simple and cost-effective way, promising for broadband applications.