Jason Breitbarth of Saetta Labs LLC

Abstract

As a fundamental building block of radar, the oscillator sets one of the most critical performance parameters. Phase noise, a measure of the short-term stability of an oscillator, directly affects both the range and sensitivity. Advances in microwave DACs and ADCs have enabled direct element-driven phased arrays with superior additive phase noise, requiring new ultra-low phase noise specifications of the system reference oscillator. Hypersonic missile detection is additionally pushing the state of the art in oscillator performance.

This talk introduces the oscillator as a noise element from fundamental components, mathematically and practically identifying the origins of phase noise in an easy-to-understand way. The discussion continues with how phase noise is predicted and measured. Traditional and latest-generation oscillators are introduced for X-band applications, and performance trade-offs of each technology are analyzed.

Biography:

Jason Breitbarth received his Ph.D. at the University of Colorado in 2006 under Professor Zoya Popovic, focusing on the phase noise of nonlinear transmission lines (NLTL). Prior to his Ph.D., he worked at Keysight Technologies (then HP/Agilent) in the Microwave Technology Division. After his degree, he founded Holzworth Instrumentation, designing and manufacturing ultra-low phase noise synthesizers and analyzers to 40GHz. In 2023, he founded Saetta Labs, producing the lowest-phase noise sapphire oscillators in the industry.