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Search Publications by: David A. Howe (Assoc)

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Displaying 26 - 50 of 123

Calibration uncertainty for the NIST PM/AM noise standards

July 31, 2012
Author(s)
Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson, Neil Ashby, David A. Howe
NIST provides an on-site calibration service of the accuracy of phase modulation (PM) noise, amplitude modulation (AM) noise and noise floor of the measurement systems at a customer's site using one or more portable PM/AM secondary noise standards. In this

Sub-femtosecond absolute timing jitter with a 10 GHz hybrid photonic-microwave oscillator

June 7, 2012
Author(s)
Tara M. Fortier, Craig W. Nelson, Archita Hati, Franklyn J. Quinlan, Jennifer A. Taylor, Haifeng (. Jiang, Chin-Wen Chou, Till P. Rosenband, Nathan D. Lemke, Andrew D. Ludlow, David A. Howe, Christopher W. Oates, Scott A. Diddams
We present an optical-electronic approach to generating microwave signals with high spectral purity. By overcoming shot noise and operating near fundamental thermal limits, we demonstrate 10 GHz signals that have timing deviation from an ideal periodic

A hybrid 10 GHz photonic-microwave oscillator with sub-femtosecond absolute timing jitter

May 24, 2012
Author(s)
Tara M. Fortier, Craig W. Nelson, Archita Hati, Franklyn J. Quinlan, Jennifer A. Taylor, Haifeng (. Jiang, Chin-Wen Chou, Nathan D. Lemke, Andrew D. Ludlow, David A. Howe, Christopher W. Oates, Scott A. Diddams
We demonstrate a 10 GHz hybrid oscillator comprised of a phase stabilized optical frequency comb divider and a room temperature dielectric sapphire oscillator. Characterization of the 10 GHz microwave signal via comparison of two independent hybrid

A Sub-Sampling Digital PM/AM Noise Measurement System

May 24, 2012
Author(s)
Craig W. Nelson, David A. Howe
A digital phase/amplitude modulation (PM/AM) noise measurement system (DNMS) implementing field programmable gate array (FPGA) based digital down converters (DDCs), and 250 MHz analog to digital converters (ADCs) is reported. Performance in the first

Common-Arm Counter Propagating Phase Bridge for Vibration Sensitivity Measurement

May 24, 2012
Author(s)
Danielle G. Lirette, Corey A. Barnes, Archita Hati, Jason A. DeSalvo, Craig W. Nelson, David A. Howe
Current methods for measuring the vibration sensitivity of microwave devices are primarily limited by choice of cables connecting a stationary platform to a vibrating actuator. We experimentally compare the current ("conventional") method with a new (

Phase-Noise Measurement of a 670 GHz Source

May 24, 2012
Author(s)
Jason A. DeSalvo, Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson, David A. Howe
We present phase-noise measurements in support of terahertz electronics. Using digital phase-noise measurement techniques and an even-harmonic mixer, we achieve a phase-noise measurement system in waveguide (WR1.5). At 670 GHz an upper bound of this system

PM-AM Correlation Measurements and Analysis

May 24, 2012
Author(s)
David A. Howe, Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson, Danielle G. Lirette
We measure and analyze effects of nonlinear mixing of phase-noise modulation (PM) and amplitude-noise modulation (AM) in an oscillating signal by real-time correlations measured in the cross power spectral density (CPSD). We outline sensitive measurements

Ultra-low-noise Regenerative Frequency Divider for High Spectral Purity RF Signal Generation

May 24, 2012
Author(s)
Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson, Corey A. Barnes, Danielle G. Lirette, Jason A. DeSalvo, Tara M. Fortier, Franklyn J. Quinlan, Andrew D. Ludlow, Till P. Rosenband, Scott A. Diddams, David A. Howe
We implement an ultra-low-noise frequency divider chain from 8 GHz to 5 MHz that utilizes custom-built regenerative frequency divide-by-2 circuits. The single-sideband (SSB) residual phase noise of this regenerative divider at 5 MHz output is -163 dBc/Hz

Vibrational analysis of stabilized lasers

May 24, 2012
Author(s)
Kenneth J. Hughes, Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson, David A. Howe
Frequency-stabilized lasers are routinely used in a variety of research and application areas relating to laser-cooled atoms. Important applications in the cold-atom regime include atomic time keeping, inertial navigation, gravitational sensing, and

Characterizing Dynamic Effects of Oscillator Power Cycling

November 14, 2011
Author(s)
David A. Howe, Danielle G. Lirette, Neil Ashby, Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson
We create a measurement technique and metrics consistent with easy interpretation to be used in development of new oscillators specifically for applications in which the oscillator’s power is turned on and off. This is useful in predicting the performance

Common-Arm Counter-Propagating Interferometer for Fiber Vibration Measurements

November 1, 2011
Author(s)
Craig W. Nelson, Archita Hati, David A. Howe
We propose and demonstrate a novel technique to measure the vibration sensitivity of two-port fiber-based optical components. It uses a common-arm counter-propagating frequency-shifted interferometer that cancels the vibration induced phase noise of the

5 MHz Phase Detector With Low Residual Flicker

September 15, 2011
Author(s)
Corey A. Barnes, Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson, David A. Howe
The measurement of close-to carrier phase modulation (PM) noise of state-of-the-art oscillators is always challenging. Quite often the residual noise of the phase detector used in these measurements is the source of difficulty. In particular at Fourier

Limited Live-time Measurements of Frequency Spectra

July 31, 2011
Author(s)
David A. Howe, Neil Ashby, Danielle G. Lirette, Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson
Frequency-difference-of-arrival (FDOA) can be used to monitor and track an emitter’s location by observing Doppler frequency shifts of the carrier during short pulsed transmissions. This specific application needs to consider two frequency-stability levels

Residual PM Noise Evaluation of Radio Frequency Mixers

July 31, 2011
Author(s)
Corey A. Barnes, Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson, David A. Howe
Direct observation of phase modulated (PM) noise is often difficult due to the high dynamic range that exists between the carrier and the modulated sidebands. A common tool used to reduce the dynamic range is the phase detector, which removes the carrier

Vibration Sensitivity of Optical Components: A Survey

July 31, 2011
Author(s)
Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson, David A. Howe
We propose and demonstrate a novel technique to measure the vibration sensitivity of two-port fiber-based optical components. It uses a common-arm counter-propagating frequency-shifted interferometer that cancels the vibration induced phase noise of the

Fast TheoBR: A method for long data set stability analysis

September 1, 2010
Author(s)
Jennifer A. Taylor, David A. Howe
TheoBR (Theo1 with Bias Removed) is a high-confidence statistic that evaluates frequency stability at long \tau values. However, for real-world data sets that are thousands of points and longer, the calculation of the bias with respect to the Allan

High Spectral purity oscillator at 40 GHz: Design using air-dielectric Cavity

June 2, 2010
Author(s)
Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson, Billy F. Riddle, David A. Howe
We describe the design of a low-PM noise 40 GHz oscillator that uses a conventional air-dielectric cavity resonator as a frequency discriminator to clean up the PM noise of a commercial 10 GHz dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO) multiplied by four. The

Phase noise suppression in frequency comb generators

June 2, 2010
Author(s)
Craig W. Nelson, Archita Hati, J F. Nava-garcia, David A. Howe
We propose an idea to suppress the flicker (1/f) noise in radio frequency (RF) multiplier based frequency comb generators. Comb generators are often used for frequency multiplication in frequency synthesis. In general, comb generators apply high power to a

Phase-lock Loops in Vibration Environments

November 16, 2009
Author(s)
Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson, David A. Howe
A popular scheme for achieving low phase noise across a large range of offset frequencies is to employ an oscillator at an output frequency with low far-from-carrier noise that is phase-locked to a reference that has low close-to-carrier noise. We

Vibration-induced PM and AM noise in microwave components

October 1, 2009
Author(s)
Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson, David A. Howe
The performance of microwave components is sensitive to vibrations to some extent. Among them, microwave cables and connectors, bandpass filters, mechanical phase shifters and some non-linear components are the most sensitive. The local oscillator is one

Vibration-induced PM noise in oscillators and its suppression

January 1, 2009
Author(s)
Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson, David A. Howe
High precision oscillators have significant applications in modern communication and navigation systems, radars, and sensors mounted in unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, missiles, and other dynamic platforms. These systems must provide their required

Vibration-induced PM Noise of A Rigid Optical Fiber Spool

December 1, 2008
Author(s)
Jennifer A. Taylor, Craig W. Nelson, Archita Hati, Neil Ashby, David A. Howe
Oscillators operating in field applications are subject to much more strenuous environmental effects than those in the laboratory. These environmental effects, like vibration and temperature fluctuation, have a great impact on the performance of the

Cancellation of Vibration-Induced Phase Noise in Optical Fibers

November 15, 2008
Author(s)
Archita Hati, Craig W. Nelson, Jennifer A. Taylor, David A. Howe
Vibration causes mechanical distortions in fiber-optic transmission lines that induce phase fluctuations. A scheme is described which enables electronic cancellation of vibration-induced phase noise in an optical fiber wound on a spool. We report 20 dB or

Relative Intensity Noise Suppression for Photonic Links

September 15, 2008
Author(s)
Craig Nelson, Archita Hati, David A. Howe
We propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel technique to reduce laser relative intensity noise (RIN). A RIN suppression servo is usually implemented by inserting an intensity modulator in the optical path and controlling measured light intensity with