Low phase-noise microwave oscillators with interferometric signal processing

Abstract

Phase-noise spectral density of a 9-GHz oscillator has been reduced to -160 dBc/Hz at 1-kHz offset frequency, which is the lowest phase noise ever measured at microwave frequencies. This performance was achieved by frequency locking a conventional loop oscillator to a high-Q sapphire dielectric resonator operating at the elevated level of dissipated power (/spl sim/0.4 W). Principles of interferometric microwave signal processing were applied to generate the error signal for the frequency control loop. No cryogenics were used. Two almost identical oscillators were constructed to perform classical two-oscillator phase-noise measurements where one oscillator was phase locked to another. The phase locking was implemented by electronically controlling the level of microwave power dissipated in the sapphire dielectric resonator.