Optical Frequency Synthesizer for Precision Spectroscopy

We have used the frequency comb generated by a femtosecond mode-locked laser and broadened to more than an optical octave in a photonic crystal fiber to realize a frequency chain that links a 10 MHz radio frequency reference phase-coherently in one step to the optical region. By comparison with a similar frequency chain we set an upper limit for the uncertainty of this new approach to $5.1\times {10}^{-16\mathrm{}}$. This opens the door for measurement and synthesis of virtually any optical frequency and is ready to revolutionize frequency metrology.