NIST has developed a new type of microwave oscillator that is smaller, simpler, and produces clearer signals at a single frequency compared to existing devices. The oscillator, which is about the size of a roll of 35 mm camera film, has been built in five prototypes and offers several orders of magnitude reduction in various types of self-generated signal interference, or noise, compared to typical commercial oscillators.
Microwave oscillators are used as reference or clock signals in many high-precision technologies. The NIST oscillator uses an ultra-stiff ceramic manifold that supports a single frequency with either a vacuum or air as the insulating medium, operating at high signal power without the noise penalty found in conventional designs. The technique used by the NIST oscillator maintains such a stable frequency that it can overcome or compensate for self-generated noise produced by components such as amplifiers that sustain oscillation.
The invention has been patented and has the potential to revolutionize various fields and improve the accuracy of high-precision technologies. NIST researchers continue to work on improvements, hoping to make the technology more tolerant of vibrations such as those from aircraft, field radars, and even sub-audible vibrations in buildings.
Source: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2006/09/small-low-noise-oscillator-may-help-surveillance
Keywords: technologies, oscillators, frequency stability, microwave signals
