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Optical frequency comb transfer through 820-m-scale atmospheric turbulence for low-noise radiofrequency distribution

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Abstract

Distribution of a high-stability clock signal is an important topic for many applications. Recently, optical frequency comb transfer through outdoor atmosphere has become a valuable tool for the clock distribution due to its versatility. To extend the benefits of comb-based open-air clock distribution, one-way radiofrequency (RF) transfer with a single optical frequency comb is an attractive approach due to its simplicity and broad application span. Here, we transfer an L-band RF signal across 820-m-scale outdoor beam path with a single optical frequency comb. We measured the absolute phase noise of the transferred RF signal, and analyzed it with Kolmogorov’s f −8/3 power law and Taylor’s hypothesis of frozen turbulence. We also show that the residual-phase noise of the transferred RF signal can be suppressed to the femtosecond regime by a delay-locked loop. Our results may benefit remote ranging at km-range, inter-building clock distribution, and optical communication through aerial drones.

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Acknowledgements

The results in this work are obtained using the infrastructure and resources of Professor Jungwon Kim’s group at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). I thank fruitful discussions and technical supports from Changmin Ahn, Jaegoan Lee and Jungwon Kim of KAIST and Myoung-Sun Heo, Sang Eon Park and Dai-Hyuk Yu of Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS).

Funding

This work was supported by the Government Contribution Research Fund to KAERI of Republic of Korea (524450–20) and National Research Foundation of Republic of Korea (2013M1A3A3A02042273).

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  1. Radiation Center for Ultrafast Science (RCUS), Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), Daejeon, 34057, Republic of Korea

    Junho Shin

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  1. Junho Shin
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Correspondence to Junho Shin.

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Shin, J. Optical frequency comb transfer through 820-m-scale atmospheric turbulence for low-noise radiofrequency distribution. J. Korean Phys. Soc. 78, 1055–1061 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40042-021-00168-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40042-021-00168-1

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