Precise timing stabilization of a mode-locked laser at 1550 nm to an optical frequency standard

Abstract

Using high-bandwidth feedback, we have synchronized the pulse train from a mode-locked semiconductor laser to an optical clock and achieved the lowest timing jitter (20 fs, 10 Hz -10 MHz) for such devices.OCIS codes: (320.7160) Ultrafast technology, (120.3930) Metrological instrumentation A mode-locked laser diode (MLLD) provides a compact and reliable source of an optical frequency comb in the 1.5 p m wavelength region. Such a source is attractive for establishing frequency reference grids for telecommunications. In light of recent developments of optical atomic clocks, [l] MLLD-based comb systems can play a central role in clock signal distributiodtransfer to remote sites. A low-jitter MLLD also has important applications for ultrafast analog-to-digital conversion. Our experimental approach employs an ultrawide bandwidth optical frequency comb generated by a mode-locked femtosecond Tisapphire laser that is phase locked to a highly stable optical frequency standard. The optical second harmonic output of a MLLD will be compared against the Tksapphire comb in order to establish optical phase coherence between the two systems.

Photonic Analog-to-Digital Converters A Tutorial

“…(4). Many groups have measured timing jitter on ultra-stable mode-locked lasers [5,67,72,73,[129][130][131], but many of these measurements have been made over an incomplete frequency band and extrapolated via physical arguments to the whole band. For an ADC, the jitter should be measured from the inverse of the sample time to the Nyquist frequency (1/2 the sampling rate).…”