Title :
Long distance optical frequency transfer over fiber: Predicting the frequency stability from the fiber noise
Author :
Newbury, N.R. ; Williams, P.A. ; Swann, W.C.
Author_Institution :
Nat. Inst. of Stand. & Technol., Boulder, CO
Abstract :
We have recently demonstrated the coherent transfer of an optical signal over a 251 km link of optical fiber by use of the standard Doppler-cancellation approach to remove the effects of the fiber-link noise. The fundamental limit to the frequency instability on the transmitted optical frequency is set by residual phase noise on the optical frequency resulting from the unavoidably imperfect Doppler cancellation of the fiber-link noise. Here we demonstrate that it is possible to quantitatively predict the phase noise and instability of the Doppler-cancelled transmitted optical frequency directly from the measured fiber-link noise. The ability to predict the frequency instability from the measured fiber noise can be a useful tool in evaluating whether a coherent fiber optic link is operating at its fundamental limit, or whether there is additional excess noise from the measurement system present in the link.
Keywords :
Doppler shift; frequency stability; optical fibres; optical information processing; optical noise; phase locked loops; phase noise; distance 251 km; fiber-link phase noise removal; frequency instability; frequency stability prediction; long distance optical frequency transfer; optical fiber link; phase-locked loop; residual phase noise; standard Doppler-cancellation approach; transmitted optical frequency; Frequency; Noise measurement; Optical feedback; Optical fiber theory; Optical fibers; Optical noise; Optical receivers; Optical transmitters; Phase noise; Stability;
Conference_Titel :
Frequency Control Symposium, 2008 IEEE International
Conference_Location :
Honolulu, HI
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-1794-0
Electronic_ISBN :
1075-6787
DOI :
10.1109/FREQ.2008.4623094