Fundamental limits of photonic rf phase-shift amplification by RF interferometry

The fundamental limits posed by classical noise on Photonic RF Phase amplification by RF Interferometry (PARFI) are modeled theoretically and verified experimentally. With 320-MHz modulated light and a phase-shift amplification of 3000, we demonstrate a phase-shift resolution of 1.6 10-4° and 200-nm distance resolution. Based on these results, we postulate that single-nanometer distance resolution can be achieved with PARFI.