Plug-and-play solution for characterizing two-way optical frequency transfer over free-space

Abstract

Optical clock networks connected by phase-coherent links offer significant potential for advancing fundamental research and diverse scientific applications. Free-space optical frequency transfer extends fiber-based connectivity to remote areas and holds the potential for global coverage via satellite links. Here we present a compact and robust portable, rack-integrated two-way free-space link characterization system. Equipped with plug-and-play capabilities, the system enables straightforward interfacing with various optical systems and facilitates quick deployment for field experiments. In this work, we achieve a fractional frequency instability of 2.0 × 10 −19 for an averaging time of 10 s over a 3.4 km horizontal fully folded intra-city free-space link. Moreover, the system maintains an uptime of 94% over 15 hours, illustrating its reliability and effectiveness for high-precision optical frequency comparisons over free-space.