Drift-free femtosecond timing synchronization of remote optical and microwave sources
Drift-free femtosecond timing synchronization of remote optical and microwave sources
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DOI：
10.1038/nphoton.2008.225
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发表时间：
2008-12-01
期刊：
影响因子：
35
通讯作者：
Kaertner, Franz X.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kim, Jungwon;Cox, Jonathan A.;Kaertner, Franz X.
飞秒锁模激光器已经彻底改变了许多科学和工程领域（1-4）。由于它们的超低噪声（5），人们预计锁模激光器将同步需要极高定时精度的大型科学设施（6-9）。然而，长期稳定的同步技术的缺乏阻碍了与此类激光器的普适同步的实现。在这里，我们提出了一套全面的新技术，用于长距离的光学和微波源的长期稳定同步。我们使用从锁模激光器产生的超低噪声光脉冲序列作为定时信号，然后通过定时稳定的光纤链路将其分配，最后，将所传递的定时信号与目标的光和微波源同步。使用这些技术，我们证明，第一次，远程定位的激光器和微波源可以在超过10小时内以小于10-fs的精度同步。这种无漂移操作是将基于锁模激光的同步从实验室过渡到现实世界设施的重要里程碑。
Femtosecond mode-locked lasers have revolutionized many fields of science and engineering(1-4). Because of their ultralow noise(5), it has been anticipated that mode-locked lasers would synchronize large-scale scientific facilities(6-9) requiring extremely high timing accuracy. However, the lack of long-term stable synchronization techniques has hindered the realization of pervasive synchronization with such lasers. Here we present a comprehensive set of new techniques for long-term stable synchronization of optical and microwave sources over long distances. We use ultralow-noise optical pulse trains generated from mode-locked lasers as the timing signals, then distribute them by means of timing-stabilized fibre links and, finally, synchronize the delivered timing signals with the optical and microwave sources being targeted. Using these techniques, we demonstrate, for the first time, that remotely located lasers and microwave sources can be synchronized with less than 10-fs precision over more than 10 h. This drift-free operation is an important milestone in transitioning mode-locked laser-based synchronization from the laboratory into real-world facilities.