Dissemination of time and RF frequency via a stabilized fibre optic link over a distance of 420 km

In this paper we present the results of our work concerning the long-distance fibre optic dissemination of time (1 PPS) and frequency (10 MHz) signals generated by atomic sources, such as caesium clocks, hydrogen masers or caesium fountains. For these purposes we developed dedicated hardware (a fibre optic system with active stabilization of the propagation delay and bidirectional fibre optic amplifiers) together with a procedure to enable calibration of the time transfer. Our laboratory measurements performed over fibre lengths of up to 480 km showed an Allan deviation of the order of 4 × 10−17, time deviation below 1 ps (both at one-day averaging) and the possibility of calibration with picosecond accuracy even for the longest from evaluated links. After successful laboratory evaluation the system was next installed on a 421.4 km long route between the Central Office of Measures (GUM) in Warsaw, Poland, and the Astrogeodynamic Observatory (AOS) in Borowiec near Pozna , Poland. Experiments comparing the UTC(PL) and UTC(AOS) atomic timescales using the fibre optic link and TTS-4 dual-frequency GNSS time transfer receivers showed that the consistency of the results is within the calibration accuracy of the GPS receivers and with much better noise performance. The field operation of the system proved its full functionality and confirmed our previous laboratory evaluation to the maximum extent possible using the methods for comparing distant clocks available at GUM and AOS.