Noise evaluation and optimization for a cryogenic sapphire oscillator with 10-15 level stability

doi:10.1088/1674-1056/ae53ba

中国物理B ›› 2026, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (7): 70601-070601.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/ae53ba

Noise evaluation and optimization for a cryogenic sapphire oscillator with 10^-15 level stability

Encai Zhong(钟恩才)^1,2, Yan Zheng(郑琰)^1,2, Hongli Liu(刘洪力)^1,2, Mingming Liu(刘明明)^1,2, Jinxu Hong(洪金旭)^1,2, Yijun Luo(罗逸骏)^1,2, Ke Deng(邓科)^1,2, Jie Zhang(张洁)^1,2, and Zehuang Lu(陆泽晃)^1,2,†

1 National Gravitation Laboratory, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China;
2 School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

收稿日期:2026-02-03 修回日期:2026-03-11 接受日期:2026-03-18 发布日期:2026-07-21
通讯作者: Zehuang Lu E-mail:zehuanglu@hust.edu.cn
基金资助:
Project supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2022YFB3904002).

Noise evaluation and optimization for a cryogenic sapphire oscillator with 10^-15 level stability

1 National Gravitation Laboratory, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China;
2 School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

Received:2026-02-03 Revised:2026-03-11 Accepted:2026-03-18 Published:2026-07-21
Contact: Zehuang Lu E-mail:zehuanglu@hust.edu.cn
Supported by:
Project supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2022YFB3904002).

摘要/Abstract

摘要： Cryogenic sapphire oscillators (CSOs) simultaneously achieve ultra-low phase noise and outstanding frequency stability, making them widely used in precision measurement applications. In this study, performance evaluation and noise analysis are conducted on a home-built CSO. When compared with an optically generated microwave (OGM) reference, its synthesized 100 Hz signal demonstrates a relative frequency instability (Allan deviation) of $2.1\times {10}^{-15}$ at an averaging time of 70 s. After evaluation of the dominant noise sources, it is shown that the short-term frequency stability is limited by the 1.4 Hz vibrational noise from the pulse cryocooler, resulting in a limitation of $1.2\times 10^{-15}$ $\tau^{-1}$. At an averaging time of 100 s, the contribution of temperature fluctuation noise becomes prominent, limiting the frequency stability to 10$^{-16}$. In the long term, the stability of the voltage reference in the microwave power servo becomes the limiting factor. This research provides guidelines for the development of improved CSOs and their further applications in precision measurement physics.

关键词: cryogenic sapphire oscillator, noise analysis, frequency stability

Abstract: Cryogenic sapphire oscillators (CSOs) simultaneously achieve ultra-low phase noise and outstanding frequency stability, making them widely used in precision measurement applications. In this study, performance evaluation and noise analysis are conducted on a home-built CSO. When compared with an optically generated microwave (OGM) reference, its synthesized 100 Hz signal demonstrates a relative frequency instability (Allan deviation) of $2.1\times {10}^{-15}$ at an averaging time of 70 s. After evaluation of the dominant noise sources, it is shown that the short-term frequency stability is limited by the 1.4 Hz vibrational noise from the pulse cryocooler, resulting in a limitation of $1.2\times 10^{-15}$ $\tau^{-1}$. At an averaging time of 100 s, the contribution of temperature fluctuation noise becomes prominent, limiting the frequency stability to 10$^{-16}$. In the long term, the stability of the voltage reference in the microwave power servo becomes the limiting factor. This research provides guidelines for the development of improved CSOs and their further applications in precision measurement physics.

Key words: cryogenic sapphire oscillator, noise analysis, frequency stability

中图分类号: (Time and frequency)

06.30.Ft

84.30.Ng (Oscillators, pulse generators, and function generators) 07.05.Fb (Design of experiments)

Encai Zhong(钟恩才), Yan Zheng(郑琰), Hongli Liu(刘洪力), Mingming Liu(刘明明), Jinxu Hong(洪金旭), Yijun Luo(罗逸骏), Ke Deng(邓科), Jie Zhang(张洁), and Zehuang Lu(陆泽晃). Noise evaluation and optimization for a cryogenic sapphire oscillator with 10^-15 level stability[J]. 中国物理B, 2026, 35(7): 70601-070601.

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Noise evaluation and optimization for a cryogenic sapphire oscillator with 10^-15 level stability

Noise evaluation and optimization for a cryogenic sapphire oscillator with 10^-15 level stability

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