Self-stabilized optoelectronic oscillator using frequency-shifted feedback and a delay line

Marc Vallet (1) , Marco Romanelli (1) , Goulc'Hen Loas (1) , Frederic Van Dijk (2, 3) , Mehdi Alouini (1)

1 IPR - Institut de Physique de Rennes
2 Alcatel Lucent Bell Labs [Paris]
3 CEA - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives

We report a new scheme of photonic microwave oscillator at telecommunication wavelength. It consists of two monolithic distributed feedback (DFB) laser diodes, whose beat-note is stabilized by means of frequency-shifted optical feedback. The feedback beam is modulated by the delayed beat-note itself, and this permits to get a stable optically carried microwave without the need of any external reference. Dual and single sideband modulation schemes were tested by using an intensity modulator and a frequency shifter, respectively. The single sideband scheme results in a better stability and a 10 dB improvement of the phase noise. A phase noise level of -65 dBc/Hz, detection limited, at 100 Hz from a 12 GHz carrier is obtained.

Mots clés: high-purity microwave; solid-state lasers; phase-locked loop; optical feedback; signals; generation; locking

Domaines: Physique [physics]

Marc Vallet, Marco Romanelli, Goulc'Hen Loas, Frederic Van Dijk, Mehdi Alouini. Self-stabilized optoelectronic oscillator using frequency-shifted feedback and a delay line. IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 2016, 28 (10), pp.1088-1091. ⟨10.1109/LPT.2016.2530826⟩. ⟨hal-01343400⟩