Ultralow-repetition-rate pulses with ultralow jitter generated by passive mode-locking of an optoelectronic oscillator

We demonstrate the generation of an ultralow-repetition-rate pulse train with a repetition rate of 19.6 kHz by passive mode-locking of an optoelectronic oscillator. The pulse-to-pulse timing jitter equals 0.06 ppm of the repetition time of the pulses. No significant dependence of pulse duration, pulse waveform, and timing jitter was observed when the cavity length was changed from 150 to 10,400 m. A simple theoretical model for calculating the dependence of the jitter on the cavity length is given.