Modeling of dual frequency combs and bistable solitons in third-harmonic generation

Abstract: Phase-matching of the third-harmonic generation process can be used to extend the emission of radiation from Kerr microresonators into new spectral regions far from the pump wavelength. Here, we present a theoretical mean-field model for optical frequency combs in a dissipative and nonlinear $\chi^{(3)}$-based cavity system with parametric coupling between fundamental and third-harmonic waves. We investigate temporally dispersive dual-comb generation of phase-matched combs with broad bandwidth, and report conditions for accessing a multistable regime that simultaneously supports two types of coupled bright cavity solitons. These bistable cavity solitons coexist for the same pump power and frequency detuning, while featuring dissimilar amplitudes of their individual field components. Third-harmonic generation frequency combs can permit telecom pump laser sources to simultaneously directly access both the near-infrared and the visible regions, which may be advantageous for the development of optical clocks and sensing applications.