title: Ultralow-phase-noise millimetre-wave signal generator assisted with an electro-optics-modulator-based optical frequency comb.
abstract: Low-noise millimetre-wave signals are valuable for digital sampling systems, arbitrary waveform generation for ultra-wideband communications, and coherent radar systems. However, the phase noise of widely used conventional signal generators (SGs) will increase as the millimetre-wave frequency increases. Our goal has been to improve commercially available SGs so that they provide a low-phase-noise millimetre-wave signal with assistance from an electro-optics-modulator-based optical frequency comb (EOM-OFC). Here, we show that the phase noise can be greatly reduced by bridging the vast frequency difference between the gigahertz and terahertz ranges with an EOM-OFC. The EOM-OFC serves as a liaison that magnifies the phase noise of the SG. With the EOM-OFC used as a phase noise "booster" for a millimetre-wave signal, the phase noise of widely used SGs can be reduced at an arbitrary frequency f (6 ≦ f ≦ 72 GHz).
authors.affiliation: NTT Basic Research Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 3-1 Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ishizawa
authors.affiliation: Tokyo Denki University, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 5 Senjyu-Asahi-cho, Adachi-ku, Tokyo 120-8551, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishikawa
authors.affiliation: NTT Basic Research Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 3-1 Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan.|Tokyo Denki University, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 5 Senjyu-Asahi-cho, Adachi-ku, Tokyo 120-8551, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.affiliation: NTT Basic Research Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 3-1 Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hitachi
authors.affiliation: NTT Basic Research Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 3-1 Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sogawa
authors.affiliation: NTT Basic Research Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 3-1 Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gotoh
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D055095:Optics and Photonics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio