Synchronization and Phase Noise Reduction in Micromechanical Oscillators Arrays Coupled through Light

Abstract

Synchronization of many coupled oscillators is widely found in nature and has the potential to revolutionize timing technologies. Here we demonstrate synchronization in arrays of silicon nitride micromechanical oscillators coupled purely through optical radiation field. We show that the phase noise of the synchronized oscillators can be improved by almost 10 dB below the phase noise limit for each individual oscillator. These results open a practical route towards synchronized oscillator networks.