Femtosecond-laser-based synthesis of ultrastable microwave signals from optical frequency references

We use femtosecond laser frequency combs to convert optical frequency references to the microwave domain, where we demonstrate the synthesis of 10-GHz signals having a fractional frequency instability of < or =3.5 x 10(-15) at a 1-s averaging time, limited by the optical reference. The residual i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics letters 2005-03, Vol.30 (6), p.667-669
Main Authors: BARTELS, A, DIDDAMS, S. A, OATES, C. W, WILPERS, G, BERGQUIST, J. C, OSKAY, W. H, HOLLBERG, L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Exact sciences and technology
Frequency conversion
harmonic generation, including high-order harmonic generation
Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications)
Harmonic generation, frequency conversion
Nonlinear optics
Optics
Physics
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Summary:We use femtosecond laser frequency combs to convert optical frequency references to the microwave domain, where we demonstrate the synthesis of 10-GHz signals having a fractional frequency instability of < or =3.5 x 10(-15) at a 1-s averaging time, limited by the optical reference. The residual instability and phase noise of the femtosecond-laser-based frequency synthesizers are 6.5 x 10(-16) at 1 s and -98 dBc/Hz at a 1-Hz offset from the 10-GHz carrier, respectively. The timing jitter of the microwave signals is 3.3 fs.
ISSN:0146-9592
1539-4794
DOI:10.1364/ol.30.000667