300 GHz wave generation based on a Kerr microresonator frequency comb stabilized to a low noise microwave reference

Abstract

In this Letter, we experimentally demonstrate low noise 300 GHz wave generation based on a Kerr microresonator frequency comb operating in the soliton regime. The spectral purity of a 10 GHz GPS-disciplined dielectric resonant oscillator is transferred to the 300 GHz repetition rate frequency of the soliton comb through an optoelectronic phase-locked loop. Two adjacent comb lines beat on a uni-traveling carrier photodiode emitting the 300 GHz millimeter-wave signal into a waveguide. In an out-of-loop measurement, we measure the 300 GHz power spectral density of phase noise to be -88<i>d</i><i>B</i><i>c</i>/<i>H</i><i>z</i>, -105<i>d</i><i>B</i><i>c</i>/<i>H</i><i>z</i> at 10 kHz, and 1 MHz Fourier frequency, respectively. Phase-locking error instability reaches 2×10^-15 at 1 s averaging time. Such a system provides a promising path to the realization of compact, low power consumption millimeter-wave oscillators with low noise performance for out-of-the-laboratory applications.