Enhancement of the performance of a fiber-based frequency comb by referencing to an acetylene-stabilized fiber laser.

We demonstrate a significant improvement in the performance of a fiber-based frequency comb when a GPS-disciplined Rb clock is replaced with an acetylene-stabilized laser as the frequency reference. We have developed a compact, maintenance-free acetylene-stabilized fiber laser with a sub-kHz short-term linewidth and an Allan deviation below 3×10 for integration times above 1 s. Switching the comb reference from the Rb clock to the acetylene-stabilized laser improves both comb tooth linewidth and Allan deviation by about two orders of magnitude.