Remote distribution of a mode-locked pulse train with sub 40-as jitter

Remote transfer of an ultralow-jitter microwave frequency reference signal is demonstrated using the pulse trains generated by a mode-locked fiber laser. The timing jitter in a similar to 30-m fiber link is reduced to 38 attoseconds (as) integrated over a bandwidth from 1 Hz to 10 MHz via active stabilization which represents a significant improvement over previously reported jitter performance. Our approach uses an all-optical generation of the synchronization error signal and an accompanying out-of-loop optical detection technique to verify the jitter performance. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America