Noise conversion in Kerr comb RF photonic oscillators

TL;DR

This paper theoretically investigates how amplitude and phase noise transfer from a continuous wave optical pump to the RF signal generated by a Kerr frequency comb, highlighting the roles of dispersion and quality factor in noise conversion.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical analysis of optical-to-RF noise conversion mechanisms in Kerr combs, emphasizing the impact of resonator dispersion and mode quality factors.

Findings

High order chromatic dispersion facilitates noise transfer.

Frequency-dependent quality factors contribute to noise conversion.

Noise limits the spectral purity of RF signals from Kerr combs.

Abstract

Transfer of amplitude and phase noise from a continuous wave optical pump to the repetition rate of a Kerr frequency comb is studied theoretically, with focus on generation of spectrally pure radio frequency (RF) signals via demodulation of the frequency comb on a fast photodiode. It is shown that both the high order chromatic dispersion of the resonator spectrum and frequency-dependent quality factor of the resonator modes facilitate the optical-to-RF noise conversion that limits spectral purity of the RF signal.