We are pleased to serve as the Guest Editors of this Special Issue on the topic of Optical Frequency Combs, published by the IEEE Photonics Technology Letters (PTL) journal. The science and technology of optical frequency combs (OFCs) have developed dramatically in the last few decades, and frequency combs have evolved to become a key enabling tool for a myriad of pertinent applications, from ultrahigh-precision metrology and spectroscopy to novel, exciting uses in high-speed telecommunications, advanced microwave signal generation and processing, astronomy observations, and even for quantum information processing and computing. The field of OFCs continues attracting a great deal of attention and keeps progressing in several important directions. OFC technologies based upon mode-locked lasers are very mature, so current research is mainly directed towards implementations in integrated formats, such as frequency combs generated in micro-resonator devices, or in alternative designs with enhanced capabilities, such as platforms based upon electro-optic modulation or frequency-shifted laser cavities. Intensive research is being also conducted toward the utilization of OFCs across the above-mentioned practical application areas and others.

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社论

我们很高兴担任本期特刊的客座编辑，主题为光频梳，由 IEEE Photonics Technology Letters (PTL) 期刊出版。在过去的几十年中，光频梳 (OFC) 的科学和技术取得了巨大的发展，并且频率梳已经发展成为无数相关应用的关键支持工具，从超高精度计量学和光谱学到新颖、令人兴奋的用途在高速电信、先进的微波信号生成和处理、天文观测，甚至量子信息处理和计算中。OFCs领域继续受到广泛关注，并在几个重要方向上不断取得进展。基于锁模激光器的OFC技术非常成熟，因此，当前的研究主要针对集成格式的实现，例如微谐振器设备中生成的频率梳，或具有增强功能的替代设计，例如基于电光调制或频移激光腔的平台。还在上述实际应用领域和其他领域对 OFC 的利用进行了深入研究。