Advanced bridge instrument for the measurement of the phase noise and of the short-term frequency stability of ultra-stable quartz resonators

Fabrice Sthal (1) , Xavier Vacheret (1) , Patrice Salzenstein (1) , Serge Galliou (1) , Gilles Cibiel (2) , Enrico Rubiola (1)

1 FEMTO-ST - Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174)
2 CNES - Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse]

High-stability quartz oscillators are needed in a number of space applications. A short-term stability of parts in 10^{-14} [Allan deviation σy(τ) ] is sometimes required, for integration time τ of approximately 1-10 s. The Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the FEMTO-ST Institute (formerly LPMO and LCEP), have been collaborating for many years in this domain, aiming at measuring and at understanding the oscillator noise. The highest stability has been observed on 5 MHz and 10 MHz bulk acoustic-wave resonators. Yet this stability is still not sufficient, or the the manufacturing method is not reproducible. Recently, the analysis of a few premium-stability oscillators has demonstrated that the oscillator frequency instability is due to the fluctuation of the resonator natural frequency, rather than to the noise of the sustaining amplifier via the Leeson effect. It is therefore natural to give attention to the measurement of the resonator fluctuations.

Domaines: Instrumentations et Détecteurs [physics.ins-det]

Fabrice Sthal, Xavier Vacheret, Patrice Salzenstein, Serge Galliou, Gilles Cibiel, et al.. Advanced bridge instrument for the measurement of the phase noise and of the short-term frequency stability of ultra-stable quartz resonators. IEEE Frequency Control Symposium & European Time and Frequency Forum, Jun 2007, Geneva, Switzerland. pp.254-260, ⟨10.1109/FREQ.2007.4319076⟩. ⟨hal-00154297⟩