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Frontiers in Optics

Ultra-stable Long Distance Optical Frequency/Time Distribution Using the Internet Network

Giorgio Santarelli

Published Jan 1, 2013• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have demonstrated an ultra-stable optical link over 540 km, including 470 km of public fiber network simultaneously carrying Internet data traffic. Such optical link will enable a broad range of high-sensitivity measurements.
DOI
10.1364/fio.2013.fth3b.1

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The transfer of ultra-stable frequencies between distant laboratories is required by many applications in time and frequency metrology, fundamental physics, particle accelerators and astrophysics. This thesis describes the development of ultra-stable optical links over distances from 86 km to 300 km. The long-term objective is to connect the main European National Metrology Institutes with optical links extending up to 1000 km. The optical link is based on the transfer of the optical phase of an ultra-stable laser emitting light of wavelength 1542 nm through an optical fiber of the telecommunication network. For that purpose, ultra-stable cavity-stabilized lasers and fiber-stabilized lasers have been developed. The fractional instability of cavity-stabilized laser is approximately 10-15 at 1s integration time. The fiber-stabilized lasers are robust, compact, simple, tunable and their frequency noise is comparable to that of the cavity-stabilized laser for Fourier frequencies higher than a few tens of Hertz. Optical links were first demonstrated on 86 km and 172 km using dedicated fibers connecting the laboratories LNE-SYRTE and LPL. Fractional frequency instability in the range of or below 10-19 at 104 s integration time has been obtained. For larger distances, the ultra-stable laser signal is transferred on the Internet network simultaneously with the data traffic but on a dedicated frequency channel, using wavelength division multiplexing. Multiplexed links were demonstrated over distances up to 300 km, with fractional frequency instabilities at the same level or better than with dedicated fibers.

•Oct 26, 2010•10 citations
We demonstrate the ultra stable transfer an optical frequency over 300 km of installed optical fibers. This ultrastable optical link uses an optical telecommunication network simultaneously carrying Internet data and goes through two Data Center Facilities using multiplexers and bidirectional erbium-doped fiber amplifiers. We have obtained an instability of 3×10-15at 1 s which scales down to around 7×10-20after about 20 hours. These results are promising and represent an intermediate step for the future development of continental-scale frequency transfer.
Summary form only given. The transfer of ultra-stable frequencies between distant laboratories is a fundamental issue for a wide range of high-sensitivity experiments in advanced metrology and fundamental physics. Since a few years, several experiments of optical frequency transfer were reported over dedicated fiber, with a record distance of 920 km [1] recently demonstrated in Germany. The challenge is now to build a wide frequency dissemination network connecting laboratories and research agencies in Europe.For that purpose we exploit the existing fine meshing of the Internet fiber network, connecting laboratories via the National Research Networks (NRENs). In that scheme, the ultra-stable frequency signal is copropagating simultaneously with the Internet traffic in the same fiber using a dedicated channel in a dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) approach. Optical add-drop multiplexers enable to insert and extract the ultra-stable frequency signal in and from the network.We have demonstrated an ultra-stable optical link over 540 km, including 470 km of public fiber network of the French NREN (RENATER) simultaneously carrying Internet data traffic [2]. The signal bypasses four amplification stages and two Data Center Facilities using multiplexers and custom-made bidirectional erbium-doped fiber amplifiers. One specific point of this experiment is that with Internet fibers, we have a very limited control on the attenuation and noise. For instance the Erbium fiber doped bidirectional amplifiers gain is drastically limited to avoid lasing oscillations due to parasitic reflections due to connectors, splices and more fundamental Rayleigh backscattering. Nevertheless the results are comparable with those obtained with dedicated fibers. Figure 1 shows the measured fractional frequency stability, we obtain 6×10-15 at 1 s and below 10-18 after 10000 second integration time. Such optical link will enable a broad range of high-sensitivity measurements, including the search for fundamental constants variation and gravitational mapping. This concept of fiber link has been very recently used to implement a giant fiber gyroscope [3]
The transfer of ultra-stable frequencies between distant laboratories is required by many applications in time and frequency metrology, fundamental physics, particle accelerators and astrophysics. This thesis describes the development of ultra-stable optical links over distances from 86 km to 300 km. The long-term objective is to connect the main European National Metrology Institutes with optical links extending up to 1000 km. The optical link is based on the transfer of the optical phase of an ultra-stable laser emitting light of wavelength 1542 nm through an optical fiber of the telecommunication network. For that purpose, ultra-stable cavity-stabilized lasers and fiber-stabilized lasers have been developed. The fractional instability of cavity-stabilized laser is approximately 10-15 at 1s integration time. The fiber-stabilized lasers are robust, compact, simple, tunable and their frequency noise is comparable to that of the cavity-stabilized laser for Fourier frequencies higher than a few tens of Hertz. Optical links were first demonstrated on 86 km and 172 km using dedicated fibers connecting the laboratories LNE-SYRTE and LPL. Fractional frequency instability in the range of or below 10-19 at 104 s integration time has been obtained. For larger distances, the ultra-stable laser signal is transferred on the Internet network simultaneously with the data traffic but on a dedicated frequency channel, using wavelength division multiplexing. Multiplexed links were demonstrated over distances up to 300 km, with fractional frequency instabilities at the same level or better than with dedicated fibers.