Highly Stable and Low Phase Noise 10 GHz RF Signal Generation Based on a Sub-Harmonic Injection Locked Optoelectronic Oscillator

A low phase noise and highly stable 10 GHz RF signal generation system based on a sub-harmonic injection locked optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. By externally injecting a sub-harmonic of the 10 GHz free-running OEO to the OEO loop, the phase noise at 10 Hz offset of the 10 GHz oscillation RF signal is reduced by 40 dB when compared with the free-running OEO. The influence of the power of the injection RF signal on the phase noise performance of the injection locked OEO is also experimentally investigated.