Long-distance telecom-fiber transfer of a radio-frequency reference for radio astronomy
Date
2018
Authors
He, Y.
Baldwin, K.
Orr, B.
Warrington, R.
Wouters, M.
Luiten, A.
Mirtschin, P.
Tzioumis, T.
Phillips, C.
Stevens, J.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
Optica, 2018; 5(2):138-146
Statement of Responsibility
Yabai He, Kenneth G. H. Baldwin, Brian J. Orr, R. Bruce Warrington, Michael J. Wouters, Andre N. Luiten, Peter Mirtschin, Tasso Tzioumis, Chris Phillips, Jamie Stevens, Brett Lennon, Scott Munting, Guido Aben, Thomas Newlands, and Tim Rayner
Conference Name
Abstract
Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) for high-resolution astronomical imaging requires phase-stable frequency references at widely separated radio-telescope antennas. For the first time to our knowledge, we have disseminated a suitable radio-frequency (RF) reference for VLBI over a “real-world” telecom optical-fiber link between radio telescopes that are >100 km apart, by means of an innovative phase-conjugation technique. Bidirectional optical amplification is used in parallel with live traffic, and phase perturbations in the effective optical-fiber path length are compensated. This RF-over-fiber approach obviates the need for separate hydrogen masers at each antenna, offering significant advantages for radio-astronomy facilities such as the Square Kilometer Array.
School/Discipline
Dissertation Note
Provenance
Description
Published 1 February 2018
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Rights
© 2018 Optical Society of America