We investigate the mechanisms leading to phase locking in Raman optical frequency combs generated with ultrahigh Q crystalline whispering gallery mode disk resonators. We show that several regimes can be triggered depending on the pumping conditions, such as single-frequency Raman lasing, multimode operation involving more than one family of cavity eigenmodes, and Kerr-assisted Raman frequency comb generation. The phase locking and coherence of the combs are experimentally monitored through the measurement of beat signal spectra. These phase-locked combs, which feature high coherence and wide spectral spans, are obtained with pump powers in the range of a few tens of mW. In particular, Raman frequency combs with multiple free-spectral range spacings are reported, and the measured beat signal in the microwave domain features a 3 dB linewidth smaller than 50 Hz, thereby indicating phase locking. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America
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