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arXiv:1503.03406 · Journal of Modern Optics

Nonlinear interferometer for tailoring the frequency spectrum of bright squeezed vacuum

T.Sh. Iskhakov, S. Lemieux, A. Perez, Robert W. Boyd, Gerd Leuchs, Maria V. Chekhova

Published Sep 1, 2015• 15 citations
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Abstract

We propose a method for tailoring the frequency spectrum of bright squeezed vacuum by generating it in a nonlinear interferometer, consisting of two down-converting nonlinear crystals separated by a dispersive medium. Due to a faster dispersive spreading of higher order Schmidt modes, the spectral width of the radiation at the output is reduced as the length of the dispersive medium is increased. Preliminary results show 30% spectral narrowing.

DOI
10.1080/09500340.2015.1080315

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The bright squeezed vacuum state of light is a macroscopic nonclassical state found at the output of a strongly pumped unseeded travelling-wave optical parametric amplifier. It has been applied to quantum imaging, quantum communication, and phase supersensitivity, to name a few. Bright squeezed states are in general highly multimode, while most applications require a single mode. We separated two nonlinear crystals in the direction of propagation of the pump in order to narrow the angular spectrum down to a nearly-single angular mode. We observed noise reduction in the photon number difference between the two down-converted channels, which constitutes of proof of nonclassicality. By introducing a dispersive medium between the two nonlinear crystals, we were able to tailor the frequency spectrum of bright squeezed vacuum and to dramatically reduce the number of frequency modes down to 1.82 ± 0.02, bringing us closer to truly single-mode bright squeezed vacuum.
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