Applications of the optical fiber to the generation and to the measurement of low-phase-noise microwave signals

Abstract

The optical fiber used as a microwave delay line exhibits high stability and low noise and makes accessible a long delay (>100 microseconds) in a wide bandwidth (about 40 GHz, limited by the optronic components). Hence, it finds applications as the frequency reference in microwave oscillators and as the reference discriminator for the measurement of phase noise. The fiber is suitable to measure the oscillator stability with a sensitivity of parts in 1E-12. Enhanced sensitivity is obtained with two independent delay lines, after correlating and averaging. Short-term stability of parts in 1E-12 is achieved inserting the delay line in an oscillator. The frequency can be set in steps multiple of the inverse delay, which is in the 10-100 kHz region. This article adds to the available references a considerable amount of engineering and practical knowledge, the understanding of 1/f noise, calibration, the analysis of the cross-spectrum technique to reduce the instrument background, the phase-noise model of the oscillator, and the experimental test of the oscillator model.

arXiv comment23 pages, 13 figures, 41 references

References in corpus (6)

• Study of time-dependent CP violation in B0 -> J/Psi pi0 decays
• Determination of phase noise spectra in optoelectronic microwave oscillators: a Langevin approach
• Advanced bridge (interferometric) phase and amplitude noise measurements
• Flicker noise in high-speed p-i-n photodiodes
• The Leeson effect - Phase noise in quasilinear oscillators
• Low flicker-noise dc amplifier for 50 Ohm sources

Cited by in corpus (6)

• The Companion of Enrico's Chart for Phase Noise and Two-Sample Variances
• A tunable magneto-acoustic oscillator with low phase noise
• A generalization of the Leeson effect
• Phase noise measurement of semiconductor optical amplifiers
• Phase and frequency noise metrology
• Phase Noise in RF and Microwave Amplifiers