Electro-optic frequency comb-empowered precise measurement of the dynamic frequency of a laser

Abstract

Frequency-modulated lasers (FMLs) are widely used in spectroscopy, biology, and LiDAR. The performance of these applications highly depends on the fast and precise tracking of the FMLs' absolute frequency, which remains a challenge. Here we demonstrate integrated lithium niobate electro-optic frequency combs with arbitrarily tunable repetition rates and a 29.45-nm bandwidth, enabling precise tracking of the absolute frequency of an FML with a chirp rate as high as $2\times10^{18}\,\mathrm{Hz/s}$, which is over three orders of magnitude above the state of the art. This method enables frequency-modulated continuous-wave ranging using an FML with severe mode hops, unlocking great potential for improving the ranging resolution and acquisition rate. Our method lays the foundation for FML-based high-precision measurements of frequency, distance, and time, leading to profound implications in fundamental science and engineering applications.