Nonlinear dynamics of comb generation in optical microresonators

Various aspects of the nonlinear dynamics of Kerr frequency comb generation in optical microresonators are considered. It is shown that the comb generation process can, for the case of a single continuous wave pump, be given a simple interpretation in terms of modulational instability and that the essential dynamics can be captured using a three wave mode truncation for the pump mode and the dominant sideband pair. This idea is also extended using a four wave model to analyze an alternative dual pump configuration, for which comb generation may occur without a pump intensity threshold in both the normal and the anomalous dispersion regime.