Miniaturized Ion Clock for Distributed Radar Operation (MIC-DROp)

Vescent Photonics, LLC (Vescent) in collaboration with Robert Niffenegger at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass) and Daniel Blumenthal at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) propose to develop an ultra-low phase noise photonic microwave time base that will meet the Navy’s dual requirements for next generation synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and Doppler radar modalities as well as commercial applications including geodetic sensing for global surveying and mapping, 5G-and-beyond wireless communications, and commercial satellite communications.  The photonic microwave time base will be generated using the optical frequency division of a fiber frequency comb locked to a high stability optical clock supporting instabilities below 1E-15 in a second.  The unique link between the optical and microwave domain provided by the fiber frequency comb enables the generation of pristine microwave tones that will enable state-of-the-art radar systems with unprecedented stability for use in GPS-denied environments.