On Thursday, March 20, the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) together with Belnet organized a workshop on the transfer of time and frequency signals over optical networks. The workshop had about 40 participants from the research world, telecom, energy, but also manufacturers of T&F equipment. The applications for time & frequency are very diverse and range from fundamental physics, metrology, radio astronomy, molecular spectroscopy, quantum, seismic detection to the synchronization of 5G and 6G networks, among others.
The afternoon started with presentations from ROB and Belnet on progress in the BOOSTED project (Belgian Optical network for Optical frequency Standards and TimE Dissemination) and the first steps already taken in the development of a sustainable T&F infrastructure in Belgium.
Time transfer
Then followed a session on time synchronization with presentations from the White Rabbit Collaboration, Creotech (manufacturer of White Rabbit equipment) and Quantum Circle. The WR Collaboration (CERN) presented future open-source developments of the White Rabbit technology, which still enables sub-nanosecond synchronization, but with a more robust design better suited for applications outside of research. Creotech showed its current products and products under development. Finally, Quantum Circle presented its business-oriented development activities in quantum.
Frequency transfer
The second session, which focused more on frequency transfer, featured presentations by REFIMEVE, UCLouvain, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and EXAIL. REFIMEVE introduced the T&F network in France and the FOREST project, which aims to interconnect, extend, maintain and upgrade existing European T&F networks to provide reliable T&F signals with maximum uptime to the scientific community and possibly to public institutions and private companies. Prof. Clément Lauzin of UCLouvain explained the significant improvements in high-resolution spectroscopy that will be achieved thanks to the metrological quality of the frequency reference, which will finally be accessible over the fiber optic frequency transfer network. Dr. Jeroen Koelemeij of VU Amsterdam spoke about the Dutch T&F network and the “Super GPS” project, a collaboration with VSL-TU Delft that aims to develop services at least equivalent to GNSS, if not better, while improving the resilience of infrastructures in the face of threats from satellite networks. Finally, EXAIL presented the principles applied in its RLS optical frequency transmission equipment and provided an overview of the technical details of the next generation of multiple user equipment (MLS).
Main take-aways
The workshop concluded with a poll, which warmly welcomed the initiative and highlighted the importance of developing resilient time & frequency networks as a backup for GNSS.
Those who would like to view the presentations can download them from the event page.
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