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arXiv:1407.4907 · Optics Express

Optical frequency transfer via a 660 km underground fiber link using a remote Brillouin amplifier

S. M. F. Raupach, A. Koczwara, G. Grosche

Published Oct 20, 2014• 46 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In long-distance, optical continuous-wave frequency transfer via fiber, remote bidirectional Er³ ⁺ -doped fiber amplifiers are commonly used to mitigate signal attenuation. We demonstrate for the first time the ultrastable transfer of an optical frequency using a remote fiber Brillouin amplifier, placed in a server room along the link. Using it as the only means of remote amplification, on a 660 km loop of installed underground fiber we bridge distances of 250 km and 160 km between amplifications. Over several days of uninterrupted measurement, we find an instability of the frequency transfer (Allan deviation of Λ-weighted data with 1 s gate time) of around 1 × 10(-19) and less for averaging times longer than 3000 s. The modified Allan deviation reaches 3 × 10(-19) at an averaging time of 100 s. Beyond 100 s it follows the interferometer noise floor, and for averaging times longer than 1000 s the modified Allan deviation is in the 10(-20) range. A conservative value of the overall accuracy is 1 × 10(-19)

DOI
10.1364/oe.22.026537

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In long-distance, optical continuous-wave frequency transfer via fiber, remote bidirectional Er³ ⁺ -doped fiber amplifiers are commonly used to mitigate signal attenuation. We demonstrate for the first time the ultrastable transfer of an optical frequency using a remote fiber Brillouin amplifier, placed in a server room along the link. Using it as the only means of remote amplification, on a 660 km loop of installed underground fiber we bridge distances of 250 km and 160 km between amplifications. Over several days of uninterrupted measurement, we find an instability of the frequency transfer (Allan deviation of Λ-weighted data with 1 s gate time) of around 1 × 10(-19) and less for averaging times longer than 3000 s. The modified Allan deviation reaches 3 × 10(-19) at an averaging time of 100 s. Beyond 100 s it follows the interferometer noise floor, and for averaging times longer than 1000 s the modified Allan deviation is in the 10(-20) range. A conservative value of the overall accuracy is 1 × 10(-19)
We demonstrate optical frequency transfer over an 1840 km underground optical fiber link using a single-span stabilization. To compensate for more than 420 dB of optical attenuation of the light we use twenty Erbium doped fiber amplifiers along the entire link and two additional fiber Brillouin amplifiers. The good passive stability of our fiber link allows us to reach short term instabilities expressed as the modified Allan deviation of 3 × 10-15for a gate time τ of 1 s reaching 4 × 10-19in just 100 s. By comparing the sent and transferred frequencies we find no systematic offset within the statistical uncertainty of about 3 × 10-19. The spectral noise distribution of our fiber link at low Fourier frequencies leads to a τ-2slope in the modified Allan deviation.
To compare the increasing number of optical frequency standards, highly stable optical signals have to be transferred over continental distances. We demonstrate optical-frequency transfer over a 1840-km underground optical fiber link using a single-span stabilization. The low inherent noise introduced by the fiber allows us to reach short term instabilities expressed as the modified Allan deviation of $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}15}$ for a gate time $\ensuremath{\tau}$ of 1 s reaching $4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}19}$ in just 100 s. We find no systematic offset between the sent and transferred frequencies within the statistical uncertainty of about $3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}19}$. The spectral noise distribution of our fiber link at low Fourier frequencies leads to a ${\ensuremath{\tau}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ slope in the modified Allan deviation, which is also derived theoretically.
Abstract We investigate optical frequency dissemination over a 1400 km long fiber link in looped configuration over a pair of underground fibers between Braunschweig and Strasbourg. This fiber link is the first to combine fiber Brillouin amplifiers with a repeater laser station. Phase-coherent operation over more than five days is demonstrated. We analyze the repeatability of the performance over four campaigns and present results of 65 d in total. The weighted mean of the fractional frequency offset of the transferred optical frequency over the complete data set is (−1.1 ± 0.4)×10–20. By analyzing the stabilization signals of the two individual fibers, the correlation of the phase noise on the two fibers is shown to be >98%.
Exploiting the outstanding performance of optical atomic clocks for improved timekeeping, relativistic geodesy, and fundamental physics beyond the standard model demands comparing distant state-of-the-art optical clocks. Interferometric optical fiber links have been demonstrated as an eminent method for such frequency comparisons over distances up to thousands of kilometers. However, for such distances, the optical fiber attenuation mandates signal amplification. Fiber Brillouin amplification (FBA) has been proven as an efficient amplification technique for coherent frequency transfer. Demonstrated FBA schemes have been designed based on costly narrow-linewidth pump lasers and analog pump-to-signal phase locking schemes. Furthermore, the high pump power requirement of these FBAs hinders the integration of FBA-based frequency dissemination on fiber connections for shared telecommunication signals in the C-band. In this paper, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel FBA module (FBAM) employing cost-effective distributed feedback (DFB) pump lasers assisted by a digital phase locking scheme based on a field programmable gated array. The new FBAM is compact, cost-effective, and directly applicable to different bands, which opens up new opportunities to establish a frequency metrology infrastructure within existing telecommunication fiber networks. Additionally, the small-footprint of the DFB-FBAM allows for frequent amplification stages with lower pump power to reach continental scale optical metrology links with an optimized signal-to-noise ratio. We characterized the DFB-FBAM’s frequency transfer uncertainty using a two-way layout over an in-lab 100 km long optical fiber link and reach a fractional frequency instability of 9.3 × 10−22 at a 10 ks integration time. The DFB-FBAM characterizations show uncertainty contributions of (−2.1 ± 3.3) × 10−22 and below for averaging times >100 ks. For the first time, we assess the temporal Brillouin frequency shift variations in an underground fiber link and implement a scheme to track these changes in a remote FBAM.
We demonstrate the coherent transfer of an ultrastable optical frequency reference over a 490 km noisy field fiber link. The fiber-induced phase noise power spectrum density per-unit-length at 1 Hz offset frequency can reach up to 510 rad2⋅Hz−1⋅km−1, which is much higher than the fiber noise observed in previous reports. This extreme level of phase noise is mainly due to the fiber link laying underground along the highway. Appropriate phase-locked loop parameters are chosen to complete the active compensation of fiber noise by measuring the intensity fluctuation of additional phase noise and designing a homemade digital frequency division phase discriminator with a large phase detection range of 212 π rad. Finally, a noise suppression intensity of approximately 40 dB at 1 Hz is obtained, with fractional frequency instability of 1.1 × 10−14 at 1 s averaging time, and 3.7 × 10−19 at 10000 s. The transfer system will be used for remote atomic clock comparisons and optical frequency distribution over a long-distance communication network established in China.
We demonstrate the long-distance transmission of an ultrastable optical frequency derived directly from a state-of-the-art optical frequency standard. Using an active stabilization system we deliver the frequency via a 146-km-long underground fiber link with a fractional instability of 3 x 10(-15) at 1 s, which is close to the theoretical limit for our transfer experiment. After 30,000 s, the relative uncertainty for the transfer is at the level of 1 x 10(-19). Tests with a very short fiber show that noise in our stabilization system contributes fluctuations that are 2 orders of magnitude lower, namely, 3 x 10(-17) at 1 s, reaching 10(-20) after 4,000 s.