Abstract

The output of a femtosecond fiber laser provides a comb of lines in frequency space that can be phase-locked to either a microwave or optical reference to form a stable frequency comb. We discuss the basic configuration of fiber laser-based frequency combs, the underlying physics behind the stabilization of the comb, and some applications of fiber-laser frequency combs to remote sensing and to measurements of the stability and phase noise of optical sources at 1550 nm.