Optical Frequency Comb-Based 10 GHz Microwave Oscillators

Low phase noise microwave oscillator based on the phase-coherent division of the optical signal are very compelling tool for many scientific applications such as high bandwidth precise timing distribution and synchronization, novel imaging techniques, precision metrology and spectroscopy, and radar system. This is because of the low absorption and scattering in the optical domain. The microwave generation in the phase coherent division approach is based upon high quality factor optical resonator and a frequency comb functioning as an optical-to-microwave divider. The advantage of the frequency comb technology to generate the microwave over the commercial counterpart is the versatility, portability, large bandwidth and unprecedented precision in the fractional frequency stability in both long term and short term time scale. NP Photonics specializes in highly doped, high gain per unit length specialty fibers. This glass and fiber waveguide technology allows for tailoring the optical gain, nonlinear response, and group-velocity dispersion of the active medium. This enables a simple, compact, robust, cost efficient and ultimately integration-compatible approach to develop high repetition rate (~10 GHz) fundamentally mode-locked Er/Yb-doped fiber lasers and cavity stabilized ultralow noise single frequency laser. At the end of phase II project, we propose to achieve 10 GHz microwave electrical signal with the frequency stability of 1 in part 10^17 at 1s of averaging time with exceptional frequency stability and spectral purity. The all-fiber based system will be developed to prototype level such that a packaged system could be transported and used for laboratory demonstration purposes.