Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Low-phase-noise microwave oscillators are important to a wide range of subjects, including communications, radar and metrology. Photonic-based microwave-wave sources now provide record, close-to-carrier phase-noise performance, and compact sources using microcavities are available commercially. Photonics-based solutions address a challenging scaling problem in electronics, increasing attenuation with frequency. A second scaling challenge, however, is to maintain low phase noise in reduced form factor and even integrated systems. On this second front, there has been remarkable progress in the area of microcavity devices with large storage time (high optical quality factor). Here we report generation of highly coherent microwaves using a chip-based device that derives stability from high optical quality factor. The device has a record low electronic white-phase-noise floor for a microcavity-based oscillator and is used as the optical, voltage-controlled oscillator in the first demonstration of a photonic-based, microwave frequency synthesizer. The synthesizer performance is comparable to mid-range commercial devices.
Source: Nature Communications
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3097
Authors: Jiang Li, Hansuek Lee, Kerry J. Vahala
Institution: California Institute of Technology
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $6,990
Funders: National Science Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, California Institute of Technology, Kavli Nanoscience Institute, California Institute of Technology
OpenAlex ID: W2161867523