Dissemination of an optical frequency comb over fiber with 3 x 10-18 fractional accuracy

We demonstrate that the structure of an optical frequency comb transferred over several km of fiber can be preserved at a level compatible with the best optical frequency references currently available. Using an optical phase detection technique we measure the noise introduced by the fiber link and suppress it by stabilizing the optical path length. The measured fractional frequency stability of the transferred optical modes is 2 x 10(-18) at a few thousand seconds and the mode spacing stability after optical-microwave conversion is better than 4 x 10(-17) over the same time scale. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America