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Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)

Ultra-stable optical frequency transfer over an optical telecommunications network with live data traffic

F. Kéfélian, Olivier Lopez, Haifeng Jiang, Christian Chardonnet, Giorgio Santarelli, Anne Amy‐Klein

Published Jun 1, 2009• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We present here a new approach consisting in using part of an optical telecommunications network carrying simultaneously data traffic. Our 108 km comprises 86 km of dedicated fibre and 22 km of fibre from the French national telecommunications network for technology, education and research (RENATER). The link is a loop with both ends located in Observatoire de Paris to characterize the link stability. The metrological reference frequency signal is provided by a sub-Hz cavity stabilized laser. It is transferred on ITU channel #44 while live Internet data are transferred between University Paris 13 and Aubervilliers RENATER node on ITU #34 with 10 Gbit/s technology. The interconnection between the dedicated fibres and the optical network is realized by using optical add-drop multiplexers (OADM). This allows bidirectional propagation of the metrological signal on the same fibre which is required to compensate the link-induced phase noise using the round trip system.

DOI
10.1109/cleoe-eqec.2009.5192528

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We present here a new approach consisting in using part of an optical telecommunications network carrying simultaneously data traffic. Our 108 km comprises 86 km of dedicated fibre and 22 km of fibre from the French national telecommunications network for technology, education and research (RENATER). The link is a loop with both ends located in Observatoire de Paris to characterize the link stability. The metrological reference frequency signal is provided by a sub-Hz cavity stabilized laser. It is transferred on ITU channel #44 while live Internet data are transferred between University Paris 13 and Aubervilliers RENATER node on ITU #34 with 10 Gbit/s technology. The interconnection between the dedicated fibres and the optical network is realized by using optical add-drop multiplexers (OADM). This allows bidirectional propagation of the metrological signal on the same fibre which is required to compensate the link-induced phase noise using the round trip system.
We transfer the frequency of an ultra-stable laser over a cascaded optical link comprising two compensated links of 150 km and a repeater station. Each link passes through two important nodes of the telecommunication network and includes 114 km of Internet fiber simultaneously carrying data traffic, through a dense wavelength division multiplexing scheme. The metrological signal is inserted in and extracted from the communication network using bidirectional optical add-drop multiplexers. The repeater station is working independently without any remote control. The phase noise on the two links is compensated with the usual round-trip technique. The 300-km multiplexed cascaded link shows an Allan deviation of 3×10-15at one second and 7×10-20at 20 hours. This work paves the way to a wide dissemination of ultra stable optical clock signals between distant laboratories via the Internet network.
We transferred the frequency of an ultrastable laser over a 108-km-long urban fiber link comprising 22 km of an optical communications network fiber simultaneously carrying Internet data traffic. The metrological signal and the digital data signal were transferred over two different frequency channels in a dense wavelength-division multiplexing scheme. The metrological signal was inserted in and extracted from the communication network using bidirectional off-the-shelf optical add-drop multiplexers. The link-induced phase noise was measured and canceled with a round-trip technique using an all-fiber-based interferometer. The compensated link showed an Allan deviation of a few 10(-16) at 1 s and below 10(-19) at 10,000 s. This work paves the way to a wide dissemination of ultrastable optical clock signals between distant laboratories via the Internet.
We transferred the frequency of an ultrastable laser over a 108-km-long urban fiber link comprising 22 km of an optical communication network fiber simultaneously carrying Internet data traffic. The metrological signal and the digital data signal were transferred over two different frequency channels in a dense wavelength-division multiplexing scheme. The metrological signal was inserted in and extracted from the communication network using bidirectional off-the-shelf optical add-drop multiplexers. The link-induced phase noise was measured and canceled with a round-trip technique using an all-fiber-based interferometer. The compensated link showed an Allan deviation of a few 10−16at one second and below 10−19at 10,000 s This work paves the way to a wide dissemination of ultrastable optical clock signals between distant laboratories via the Internet network.
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]
Experiments of transmission of sub-Hz cavity-stabilized 1542 nm laser frequency using a pair of 43 km dark fibers in urban environment are reported on successively 86 km and 172 km, with fractional frequency instability in the 10-19 range. A new approach is then introduced consisting in using part of an optical telecommunications network carrying simultaneously data traffic using a DWDM scheme to multiplex the metrological signal. This method is experimentally implemented using 22 km of fiber linking Université Paris 13 to its internet access point without degradation of the link instability. We finally present a project of large scale link between Paris and the German border using RENATER network which could constitute the first step of the building of a European optical network for ultrastable frequency dissemination and comparison.
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. Optical fiber links have been intensively studied for a decade and brought the potential to transfer frequency with a very high accuracy and stability thanks to an active compensation of the propagation noise. We are currently developing an optical metrological network using the fibers of the French National Research and Education Network. Using the so-called dark-channel approach, the ultrastable signal is copropagating with data traffic using wavelength division multiplexing. Due to significant reflections and losses along the fibers, which cannot be compensated with amplifiers, we have developed some repeater stations for the metrological signal. These remotely-operated stations amplify the ultrastable signal and compensate the propagation noise. The link is thus composed of a few cascaded spans. It gives the possibility to increase the noise correction bandwidth, which is proportional to the inverse of the fiber length for each span. These stations are a key element for the deployment of a reliable and large scale metrological network. We report here on the implementation of a two-spans cascaded link of 740 km reaching a relative stability of a few 10-20 after 103 s averaging time. Extension to longer links and alternative transfer methods will be discussed.