Optical frequency dissemination for metrology applications

With the progress in the development of optical frequency standards grows the demand for the dissemination of stable optical frequencies. To date, optical fiber links constitute the most promising medium to bridge large geographical distances while still maintaining a high degree of frequency stability and accuracy. We investigated the transfer of an optical frequency along different fiber links during the past years and achieved a fractional instability and uncertainty at a level lower than 10(-19) using fiber links with lengths of up to almost 2000 km. We give an overview of different techniques and methods that can be used in combination with optical fiber links to achieve a stable frequency transfer. The results of different fiber links are summarized and an outlook of future links is given. (C) 2015 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.