Phase Noise in the Photodetection of Ultrashort Optcial Pulses

Published

June 2, 2010

Author(s)

Jennifer A. Taylor, Franklyn J. Quinlan, Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson, Scott A. Diddams, Shubahshish Datta, Abhay Joshi

Abstract

Femtosecond laser frequency combs provide an effective and efficient way to take an ultra-stable optical frequency reference and divide the signal down into the microwave region. In order to convert optical pulses into a usable rf signal, one must use high-speed photodetection; unfortunately, excess phase noise from both technical and fundamental sources can arise in the photodetection process. In order to ultimately minimize the noise effects of the photodetector, we must first characterize some of the known sources for noise arising in these devices. In this paper, we will study two sources of excess noise in high-speed photodiodes power-to-phase conversion and shot noise. The noise performance of each device will give us clues as to the nature of the sources, their effect on the output signal, and what design features of the photodiode minimize these noise effects.

Proceedings Title

Proc. 2010 IEEE Intl. Freq. Cont. Symp.

Conference Dates

June 1-4, 2010

Conference Location

Newport Beach, CA

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

photodiode, shot noise, power-to-phase conversion

Citation

Taylor, J. , Quinlan, F. , Hati, A. , Nelson, C. , Diddams, S. , Datta, S. and Joshi, A. (2010), Phase Noise in the Photodetection of Ultrashort Optcial Pulses, Proc. 2010 IEEE Intl. Freq. Cont. Symp., Newport Beach, CA, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=905994 (Accessed October 27, 2025)