6 March 2024 | Shuman Sun, Beichen Wang, Kaikai Liu, Mark W. Harrington, Fatemehsadat Tabatabaei, Ruxuan Liu, Jiawei Wang, Samin Hanifi, Jesse S. Morgan, Mandana Jahanbozorgi, Zijiao Yang, Steven M. Bowers, Paul A. Morton, Karl D. Nelson, Andreas Beling, Daniel J. Blumenthal & Xu Yi
The paper presents a miniaturized optical frequency division (OFD) system for generating ultra-low-noise microwave and millimeter-wave (mmWave) signals on chip-based platforms. The system leverages a large-mode-volume, planar-waveguide-based optical reference coil cavity and soliton microcombs generated in a waveguide-coupled microresonator to achieve phase stability and frequency division. The phase noise of the integrated photonic mmWave oscillators is significantly reduced, achieving record-low levels. The devices can be heterogeneously integrated with semiconductor lasers, amplifiers, and photodiodes, enabling large-volume, low-cost manufacturing for various applications. The OFD system demonstrates a division ratio of up to 60, achieving a phase noise of approximately 115 dBc Hz$^{-1}$ at 10 kHz offset frequency, which is over 20 dB better than previous integrated photonic oscillators. The system also includes a novel mmWave to microwave frequency division method to measure mmWave phase noise, showing excellent agreement with the phase noise of the OFD soliton repetition rate. The achieved power of 9 dBm is one of the highest reported for photonic oscillators at 100 GHz. The paper discusses future improvements and potential applications, highlighting the potential for fully integrated OFD oscillators through heterogeneous integration.The paper presents a miniaturized optical frequency division (OFD) system for generating ultra-low-noise microwave and millimeter-wave (mmWave) signals on chip-based platforms. The system leverages a large-mode-volume, planar-waveguide-based optical reference coil cavity and soliton microcombs generated in a waveguide-coupled microresonator to achieve phase stability and frequency division. The phase noise of the integrated photonic mmWave oscillators is significantly reduced, achieving record-low levels. The devices can be heterogeneously integrated with semiconductor lasers, amplifiers, and photodiodes, enabling large-volume, low-cost manufacturing for various applications. The OFD system demonstrates a division ratio of up to 60, achieving a phase noise of approximately 115 dBc Hz$^{-1}$ at 10 kHz offset frequency, which is over 20 dB better than previous integrated photonic oscillators. The system also includes a novel mmWave to microwave frequency division method to measure mmWave phase noise, showing excellent agreement with the phase noise of the OFD soliton repetition rate. The achieved power of 9 dBm is one of the highest reported for photonic oscillators at 100 GHz. The paper discusses future improvements and potential applications, highlighting the potential for fully integrated OFD oscillators through heterogeneous integration.