Everyday Life, Improved by Light: GRYPHON’s Photonic Discoveries

Radio frequency (RF) and microwave signals are integral carriers of information for technology that enriches our everyday life – cellular communication, automotive radar sensors, and GPS navigation, among others. At the heart of each system is a single-frequency RF or microwave source, the stability and spectral purity of which is critical. While these sources are designed to generate a signal at a precise frequency, in practice the exact frequency is blurred by phase noise, arising from component imperfections and environmental sensitivity, that compromises ultimate system-level performance.