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Nature communications
Mar 04, 2021;12 (1): 1442.

Dispersive-wave induced noise limits in miniature soliton microwave sources.

Qi-Fan Yang, Qing-Xin Ji, Lue Wu, Boqiang Shen, Heming Wang, Chengying Bao, Zhiquan Yuan, Kerry Vahala
Author Information
  1. Qi-Fan Yang: T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. ORCID
  2. Qing-Xin Ji: T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. ORCID
  3. Lue Wu: T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. ORCID
  4. Boqiang Shen: T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. ORCID
  5. Heming Wang: T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. ORCID
  6. Chengying Bao: T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
  7. Zhiquan Yuan: T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
  8. Kerry Vahala: T. J. Watson Laboratory of Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. vahala@caltech.edu. ORCID
PMID: 33664265 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21658-7

Abstract

Compact, low-noise microwave sources are required throughout a wide range of application areas including frequency metrology, wireless-communications and airborne radar systems. And the photonic generation of microwaves using soliton microcombs offers a path towards integrated, low noise microwave signal sources. In these devices, a so called quiet-point of operation has been shown to reduce microwave frequency noise. Such operation decouples pump frequency noise from the soliton's motion by balancing the Raman self-frequency shift with dispersive-wave recoil. Here, we explore the limit of this noise suppression approach and reveal a fundamental noise mechanism associated with fluctuations of the dispersive wave frequency. At the same time, pump noise reduction by as much as 36 dB is demonstrated. This fundamental noise mechanism is expected to impact microwave noise (and pulse timing jitter) whenever solitons radiate into dispersive waves belonging to different spatial mode families.

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Grants

  1. FA9453-19-C-002/United States Department of Defense | Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
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