Wavelength conversion technique for optical frequency dissemination applications.

Area of Science:

• Optics
• Quantum Technology
• Metrology

Background:

• Accurate optical clock comparisons are crucial for fundamental physics and advanced technologies.
• Existing methods for wavelength conversion face limitations in bandwidth and stability.
• Complex fiber networks pose challenges for signal integrity in clock comparisons.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a novel coherent wavelength conversion technique covering the entire C-band.
• To achieve high phase noise suppression and frequency stability for converted optical carriers.
• To enable robust comparisons of state-of-the-art optical clocks over extended fiber networks.

Main Methods:

• Modulating an optical carrier with a compact Fabry-Perot cavity embedded phase modulator.
• Optical injection locking a semiconductor laser to a tone of a generated optical frequency comb.
• Measuring phase noise and frequency stability of the converted optical carrier.

Main Results:

• Successful demonstration of coherent wavelength conversion across the entire C-band.
• Measured phase noise of -40 dBc/Hz at 10 Hz offset over a 1 THz interval.
• Achieved frequency stability better than 2 × 10(-17) for averaging times exceeding 1000 s.

Conclusions:

• The developed technique provides a promising solution for coherent wavelength conversion.
• The high stability and low phase noise are suitable for advanced optical clock comparisons.
• This method facilitates comparisons of state-of-the-art optical clocks over complex fiber networks.