Tests of Sapphire Crystals Produced with Different Growth Processes for Ultra-stable Microwave Oscillators

Abstract

We present the characterization of 8-12 GHz whispering gallery mode resonators machined in high-quality sapphire crystals elaborated with different growth techniques. These microwave resonators are intended to constitute the reference frequency of ultra-stable Cryogenic Sapphire Oscillators. We conducted systematic tests near 4 K on these crystals to determine the unloaded Q-factor and the turnover temperature for whispering gallery modes in the 8-12 GHz frequency range. These characterizations show that high quality sapphire crystals elaborated with the Heat Exchange or the Kyropoulos growth technique are both suitable to meet a fractional frequency stability better than 1x10-15 for 1 s to 10.000 s integration times.