Photodiode Limitations in the Generation of Low-Noise Microwave Signals From Stable Frequency Combs (2009)

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Jennifer A. Taylor (1), Scott A. Diddams (1), Shubhashish Datta (2), and Abhay Joshi (2)
(1) Time and Frequency Division National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Boulder, CO, USA
(2) Discovery Semiconductors Inc., 119 Silvia Street, Ewing, NJ 08628 USA

ABSTRACT

An optically-stabilized femtosecond laser frequency comb can generate low phase noise microwave signals; however, excess noise arises in the photodetection process. We study the impact of photodetecor shot noise, saturation, and power-to-phase conversion on 1-10 GHz signal generation.

* 2009 International Topical Meeting on Microwave Photonics, 14-16, October - Valencia