In the world of modern optics, frequency combs are invaluable tools. These devices act as rulers for measuring light, enabling breakthroughs in telecommunications, environmental monitoring, and even astrophysics. But building compact and efficient frequency combs has been a challenge—until now.

Electro-optic frequency combs, introduced in 1993, showed promise in generating optical combs through cascaded phase modulation but progress slowed down because of their high power demands and limited bandwidth.

This led to the field being dominated by femtosecond lasers and Kerr soliton microcombs, which, while effective, require complex tuning and high power, limiting field-ready use.