Observation of quantum-limited timing jitter in an active, harmonically mode-locked fiber laser.

We report on the observation of quantum-limited timing jitter in a harmonically mode-locked soliton fiber laser with an ultralow-noise local oscillator. The effects of amplitude and phase modulation on the spectrum are described and compared with theory.

A microwave exciter for Cs frequency standards based on a sapphire-loaded cavity oscillator.

A low noise and highly stable microwave exciter system has been built for Cs atomic frequency standards using a tunable sapphire-loaded cavity oscillator (SLCO), which works at room temperature. This paper discusses the successful implementation of a control system for locking the SLCO to a long-term reference signal and reports an upper limit of the achieved frequency tracking error 6 x 10(-15) at tau = 1 s.