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International Topical Meeting on Microwave Photonics

Ultra-stable wideband signal transfer for distributed systems

Xi Wang, Wei Wei, Weilin Xie, Yi Dong

Published Oct 1, 2022• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

We present an ultra-stable wideband signal distribution system via a star-like fiber network. By inserting a 26 GHz probe signal and precisely measuring its round-trip delay variation with double optical mixing, the link length variation has been accurately compensated, leading to a distributed transmission network with stability on the order of femtosecond. Experimentally, a wideband signal ranging from 8 GHz to 12 GHz is distributed from a local end to 2 remote ends via 20 km fiber links. The root-mean-square delay jitters of the transmitted wideband signals are between 10 to 20 femtoseconds within an hour. The proposed wideband signal transfer scheme is highly desired for distributed systems with high stability and strict coherence requirements.

DOI
10.1109/mwp54208.2022.9997651

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We present an ultra-stable wideband signal distribution system via a star-like fiber network. By inserting a 26 GHz probe signal and precisely measuring its round-trip delay variation with double optical mixing, the link length variation has been accurately compensated, leading to a distributed transmission network with stability on the order of femtosecond. Experimentally, a wideband signal ranging from 8 GHz to 12 GHz is distributed from a local end to 2 remote ends via 20 km fiber links. The root-mean-square delay jitters of the transmitted wideband signals are between 10 to 20 femtoseconds within an hour. The proposed wideband signal transfer scheme is highly desired for distributed systems with high stability and strict coherence requirements.
In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a multiple local oscillator (LO) signal phase stabilization technique for long-distance fiber delivery. One of the LO signals, which acts as a reference single, is round-trip transferred between the central station and the remote end, carrying the phase variation arises from perturbations of the fiber link. The wavelength of the optical carrier is adjusted according to the phase variation of the reference LO, to stabilize the delay of the fiber link. Once the delay of the link is stabilized, the phases of other LO signals that transferred through the same fiber link will all be stabilized. Meanwhile, the delay tunable range is in proportion to the fiber length, which means a very long delivery distance can be expected. Experimentally, LOs at frequencies of 2.46 GHz and 8 GHz are transferred through a 30-km fiber link, and significant phase drift compression is observed at both frequencies.
We propose to use a parametric mixer in a passive phase correction scheme for stable distribution of a millimeter-wave signal over fiber links. The parametric mixer is realized via ultrafast four-wave mixing processes, thereby overcoming the bandwidth limit of conventional electronic devices. The mixing of round-trip probe and local pumps generates a signal immune to transmission delay fluctuations at the remote end. This scheme is validated by an experiment that distributes a 36-GHz millimeter wave over 20-km optical fiber. The remote frequency stability achieves 4.0×10−16 at 2000 s, indicating that this approach is promising for phase-stabilized delivery of high-frequency signals.
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We demonstrate a photonic radio-frequency transmission system via optical fiber. Optical radio-frequency signal is generated utilizing a Mach-Zehnder modulator based on double-side-band with carrier suppression modulation scheme. The phase error induced by optical fiber transmission is transferred to an intermediate frequency signal by the dual-heterodyne phase error transfer scheme, and then canceled by a phase locked loop. With precise phase compensation, a radio frequency with high-phase stability can be obtained at the remote end. We performed 20.07-GHz radio-frequency transfer over 100-km optical fiber, and achieved residual phase noise of -65 dBc/Hz at 1-Hz offset frequency, and the RMS timing jitter in the frequency range from 0.01 Hz to 1 MHz reaches 110 fs. The long-term frequency stability also achieves 8×10(-17) at 10,000 s averaging time.
Optical clocks are considered as promising candidates for redefining the second in the International System of Units. Compared with microwave clocks, optical clocks are powerful tools for the fundamental research such as the constancy of the fundamental constants, the validity of Einstein’s theory of general relativity, and the predictions of quantum electrodynamics. Recently two research groups have demonstrated the optical clocks with an unprecedented precision level of 10-18, which is two orders better than the present primary frequency standard. Using two Sr optical clocks and three Cs fountain clocks, SYRTE group has demonstrated the definition of second with optical clocks.#br#For redefining the second with optical clocks in the future, the optical clocks from the remote laboratories should have a high precision and the frequency of the optical clocks need to be transferred over a long distance, with extremely high precision. Unfortunately the conventional means of frequency transfer such as two-way satellite time and frequency transfer can reach a 10-16 level in one day which is far below the requirement for an optical clocks. Various methods have been developed to transfer optical frequency signal via optical fibers. Especially a research group from Germany has achieved a frequency transfer stability of 10-19 level in hundreds of seconds with a fiber length of 1840 km.#br#We demonstrate the recent development of optical frequency transfer over a 70-km fiber spool at National Time Service Center. The measurement shows that the compensation for the fiber noise is close to the limitation induced by the fiber delay for the Fourier frequency from 1 Hz to 250 Hz. The transfer stability (Allan deviation) of the fiber link is 1.2×10-15 in 1 s averaging time, and 1.4×10-18 in 10000 s. A preliminary test of the optical frequency transfer over a 100-km spooled fiber is achieved with a stability of roughly one order worse than the 71 km result, 5×10-15 in 1 s.#br#We demonstrate a new scheme of remote compensation for optical frequency transfer via fibers against conventional local compensation method. This new scheme has the advantage of great simplification of the local site, which can find applications in massive extension of star network. The key feature is that we transfer the mixture of the round-trip signal and local reference to the remote user’s end via an auxiliary fiber. At remote site, the fiber noise is measured and compensated by AOM2 accordingly.#br#Transfer stabilities of 13×10-15 in 1 s averaging time and 4.8×10-18 in 10000 s are achieved with the remote fiber noise compensation via a 25 km fiber spool. The demonstrated transfer stability is comparable to that obtained by the local fiber noise compensation method.#br#The future star fiber network of optical frequency transfer can benefit from this method, because the simpler local setup is required and even can be shared in the central site for multitudinous remote users.
SummaryPrecise and stable coherent optical frequency transfer over long-haul fiber link is required by diverse scientific applications, such as large-scale optical clock networks, global positioning and timing, very-long baseline interferometry, and high-sensitivity tests of fundamental physics. To meet the needs of the above applications, active compensation schemes for cancelling fiber-induced phase noise has developed considerably over the past ten years. However, optical signal severely reduces across distant fiber-optic networks, which degrades optical beat signal and feedback control.Here, we adopt active phase compensation and bidirectional optical frequency locking to achieve ultra-stable optical carrier transfer. The phase noise of the fiber link is effectively suppressed, meanwhile, the ultra-stable optical frequency signal is regenerated accurately at the remote site.Preliminary experiment over 100 km fiber link indicates that the additional frequency stability exhibits 1.9×10-16and 2.5×10-17at an averaging time of 1 s and 100 s, respectively. This approach has a capacity of extending to the parallel transfer of microwave and optical frequency, and free-space optical frequency transfer.