Coherent optical two-way frequency transfer in a commercial DWDM network

An experimental fiber connection for ultra-stable optical frequency transfer is established between SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden in Borås and Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. The distance is approximately 60 km, and the connection is implemented in the Swedish University Computer Network. The sites are connected through an active flexible communication network where each optical channel can be configured with terminal equipment based on the user needs. The network is implemented with unidirectional optical amplifiers and duplex fibers. The signal quality and the stability when sending an optical coherent frequency utilizing a wavelength in a DWDM system fiber pair, is evaluated within this work. The aim of the system is to be ultra-stable which corresponds to a stability of 10-13 for t = 1 s (Overlapping Allan Variance), as well as providing the ability to distribute monitored ultra-stable frequency with a future traceability to UTC (SP) to multiple users within the future network. This paper describes the current status and results from the frequency transfer between SP and Chalmers