Description

Ultrastable Microwave Sources:

Dividing phase noise. Shifting paradigms. 

As the world’s first commercial supplier of optical frequency combs, Menlo Systems has been driving advancements in photonics precision for over 20 years. It is no surprise that we were also the first to commercially merge the principles of comb generation with optical frequency division - introducing microwave sources with unprecedentedly low phase noise to the market.

The principle of optical frequency division achieves phase-coherent scaling of ultra-low-noise optical signals across orders of magnitude, down to the microwave domain. This process reduces phase noise to levels once thought unattainable, marking a paradigm shift in microwave signal synthesis.

Menlo Systems’ ultrastable microwave systems (UMS) are the result of years of dedicated research, development, and integration engineering. In 2016, we set a world record for the lowest phase noise on an X-Band microwave signal [1] - a record that still stands today. Building on this success, we prototyped a fully integrated, transportable system in 2019 [2]. As of today, we are delivering this exceptional performance through integrated solutions that combine the full breadth of our expertise.

Each building block of our UMS line of products is engineered for superior performance: From ultrastable lasers as optical references, to optical frequency combs based on ultra-low-noise technology, and application-tailored microwave extraction units. Together, they represent the pinnacle of precision in photonic microwave systems.

In short: Our UMS systems are microwave frequency sources with the lowest phase noise available on the market - in a robust and portable design.

Absolute phase noise specifications for a 10 GHz carrier signal delivered by the UMS-Compact and UMS-mini, in comparison with the best on the market upscaled OCXO.

 

[1] ] Xie, X. et al. Photonic microwave signals with zeptosecond-level absolute timing noise. Nature Photonics 11, 44–47 (2016)

[2] Giunta, M. et al. Compact and ultrastable photonic microwave oscillator. Optics Letters 45, 1140 (2020)