ABSTRACT

Dissipative Kerr cavity solitons are pulses of light that can persist in coherently driven nonlinear optical resonators. They have attracted significant attention over the past decade due to their rich nonlinear dynamics and key role in the generation of coherent microresonator optical frequency combs. Whilst the vast majority of implementations have relied on homogeneous continuous wave driving, the soliton's ‘plasticity’ combined with inhomogeneous driving offers attractive advantages for a host of applications. Here we review recent studies into the dynamics and applications of Kerr cavity solitons in the presence of inhomogeneous driving fields. In particular, we summarise the salient theoretical developments that allow for the analysis of cavity soliton motion in the presence of pump phase or amplitude inhomogeneities, and survey relevant experiments across macroscopic fibre ring resonators, monolithic microresonators, and free-space Kerr enhancement cavities.

摘要

耗散克尔腔孤子是可以在相干驱动的非线性光学谐振器中持续存在的光脉冲。由于它们丰富的非线性动力学和在相干微谐振器光学频率梳产生中的关键作用，它们在过去十年中引起了极大的关注。虽然绝大多数实现依赖于均匀连续波驱动，但孤子的“可塑性”与非均匀驱动为许多应用程序提供了有吸引力的优势。在这里，我们回顾了最近在存在不均匀驱动场的情况下对克尔腔孤子的动力学和应用的研究。特别是，我们总结了允许在泵浦相位或幅度不均匀性存在下分析腔孤子运动的突出理论发展，并调查了宏观光纤环形谐振器、单片微谐振器和自由空间克尔增强腔的相关实验。