Mid-Infrared Soliton and Raman Frequency Comb Generation in Silicon Microrings

We numerically study the mechanisms of frequency comb generation in the mid-
infrared spectral region from cw pumped silicon microring resonators. Coherent soliton
comb generation may be obtained even for a pump with zero linear cavity detuning, through
suitable control of the effective lifetime of free-carriers from multiphoton absorption, which
introduces a nonlinear cavity detuning via free-carrier dispersion. Conditions for optimal
octave spanning Raman comb generation are also described.