Remote Transfer of Ultra-Stable Optical Frequency Reference using Active Cancellation of Fiber Induced Phase Noise

Abstract

Comparison of ultra-stable frequency references located in geographically distributed areas require a transfer technique, which offers stability of 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">−17</sup> at 1 s over tens of kilometer. Such remote frequency transfer will allow comparing the optical frequency references of same or different atomic species (through a frequency comb bridge) for test of relativistic geodesy [1] or time variation of fundamental constants [2], and will contribute towards the database of frequency ratio measurements-an essential requirement for the re-definition of the SI second based on optical clocks [3]. It will also facilitate in creating an optical to microwave frequency link that can be used by various SI standards laboratory requiring stable microwave sources. In this paper, I discuss the modulated optical carrier wave based ultra-stable frequency reference transfer technique, and present a study of a laser interferometer based active fiber noise cancellation system and its applications.