Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2601.06569

Spontaneous Brillouin Scattering in a Few-Mode Optical Fiber

Hikari Kikuchi, Rekishu Yamazaki

physics.opticsquant-phSubmitted Jan 10, 2026• Announced Jan 13, 2026
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We report a comprehensive experimental study of spontaneous Brillouin scattering in a few-mode optical fiber, resolving both forward and backward scattering processes for intra- and inter-modal interactions. Using heterodyne detection, Stokes and anti-Stokes components without external acoustic excitation are observed and quantitatively extracted Brillouin shifts, linewidths, and gain coefficients. Forward scattering is mediated by guided torsional-radial acoustic modes with frequencies ranging from MHz to GHz, while backward scattering involves longitudinal core-guided modes at frequencies of tens of GHz. These results provide calibrated benchmarks for Brillouin interactions in few-mode fibers, offering insights relevant to phonon-based quantum applications and mode-selective optomechanics.

Related papers

Guided acoustic wave Brillouin scattering in photonic crystal fibers

Dominique Elser, Christoffer Wittmann, Ulrik L. Andersen +4 more

In silica glass fibers, thermally excited acoustic phonons scatter light into the beam propagating in the forward direction. At acoustic frequencies up to several hundreds of megahertz, the wave vectors of the phonons interacting with the light propagate essentially transversally to the fiber axis. This effect is known as Guided Acoustic Wave Brillouin Scattering (GAWBS) and leads to phase and polarization noise in the guided light. For fiber-based quantum optics experiments, this excess noise is a major limitation. In Photonic Crystal Fibers (PCFs), light is guided by a microstructure simultaneously acting as a 2D transversal phononic crystal which modifies the acoustic noise spectrum. We demonstrate a GAWBS-noise reduction in commercially available PCFs. This gives rise to the prospect of fiber-based quantum optic devices exhibiting less excess noise, thus resulting in higher quantum state purity. Further improvement can be achieved by tailoring the photonic microstructure such that a reduction of phonon noise by design is achieved.

Journal of Physics Conference Series•Dec 1, 2007•12 citations

Broadband SBS Slow Light in an Optical Fiber

Zhaoming Zhu, Andrew M. C. Dawes, Daniel J. Gauthier +2 more

In this paper, we investigate slow light via stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in a room temperature optical fiber that is pumped by a spectrally broadened laser. Broadening the spectrum of the pump field increases the linewidth Deltaomegapof the Stokes amplifying resonance, thereby increasing the slow-light bandwidth. One physical bandwidth limitation occurs when the linewidth becomes several times larger than the Brillouin frequency shift OmegaBso that the anti-Stokes absorbing resonance substantially cancels out the Stokes amplifying resonance and, hence, the slow-light effect. We find that partial overlap of the Stokes and anti-Stokes resonances can actually lead to an enhancement of the slow-light delay-bandwidth product when Deltaomegapsime1.3OmegaB. Using this general approach, we increase the Brillouin slow-light bandwidth to over 12 GHz from its nominal linewidth of ~30 MHz obtained for monochromatic pumping. We controllably delay 75-ps-long pulses by up to 47 ps and study the data-pattern dependence of the broadband SBS slow-light system

Journal of Lightwave Technology•Jan 1, 2007•200 citations

The quantum noise of guided wave acoustic Brillouin scattering with applications to continuous-variable quantum key distribution

Zheshen Zhang, Xuan Quyen Dinh, Paul L. Voss

The spectra and optical quantum state of guided acoustic wave Brillouin scattering in optical fibers are measured. Spectra from 0.95 to 2 GHz are obtained with amplitude resolution as sensitive as 0.01 shot noise unit. Quantum homodyne tomography measurements confirm the thermal quantum statistics of guided acoustic wave Brillouin scattering, which is useful knowledge in the context of experimental continuous-variable quantum key distribution.

Journal of Modern Optics•Jul 10, 2011•2 citations

Stokes-anti-Stokes correlations of light propagating through weakly guiding optical fiber

Ivan V. Panyukov, E. S. Andrianov

Statistical properties of light produced in spontaneous Raman scattering on an ensemble of molecules indicate the quantum nature of this phenomenon. The scattered light is non-classical and has high non-classical intensity correlations between Stokes and anti-Stokes components. The temporal coherence of this light is well investigated, while many questions related to spatial coherence remain open. Recent experiments reveal two peculiar features of the spatial coherence of the Stokes and anti-Stokes light. First, the intensity correlations between Stokes and anti-Stokes light remain non-classical even for macroscopic samples containing many molecules. Second, these correlations decrease when signal propagates through a multi-mode optical fiber: the more propagating fiber modes at Stokes and anti-Stokes frequencies the less the correlations. Moreover, the second-order autocorrelation function of Stokes and anti-Stokes light also decreases with the number of propagating modes in multi-mode fiber. In this paper, we build a model of spontaneous Raman scattering correlations of light produced by an ensemble of molecules and propagating through weakly guiding optical fiber that quantitatively explains all these observations. We show that spacial orthogonality of the fiber modes makes the light propagating through these modes uncorrelated in the standard detection scheme. This leads to suppression of non-classical intensity correlations of the total field in the multi-mode fiber. We find the degree of non-classical correlations on fiber parameters. The obtained results pave the way for engineering of non-classical Stokes -- anti-Stokes correlations.

arXiv:2605.14825•May 14, 2026•0 citations

Induced Transparency and Slow-Light Effect on a Brillouin Anti-Stokes Wave by Brillouin Scattering Processes in Short Optical Fibers

Kyoungyoon Park, Achar V. Harish, Johan Nilsson +1 more

Here, we theoretically and numerically analyze the abnormal SBS combined with BEFWM in short optical fibers, and report that EIT-like Brillouin-induced transparency and slow-light effects can occur to the anti-Stokes in short optical fibers.

OSA Advanced Photonics Congress•Jan 1, 2017•0 citations

The Brillouin gain and experiment performance based on stimulated Brillouin scattering slow light

Hongyan Zhou, Ru Zhang, Kun Hua Zhong

Slow light is generated via the gain mechanisms of nonlinear optical phenomena-- stimulated stimulated Brillouin scattering in optical fiber. Slow light is characterized in terms of Brillouin threshold, gain spectrum, Brillouin frequency shift by using optical heterodyne detection. According to the measured Brillouin frequency shift, we set our signal frequency in the gain region by manual matching method to get the maximum gain, and the gain bandwidth is broadened to 450MHz using a phrase-modulated pump. A delay of 32ns is achieved for the 500ns input signal when the gain is 15dB.

Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Nov 2, 2011•0 citations
We report a comprehensive experimental study of spontaneous Brillouin scattering in a few-mode optical fiber, resolving both forward and backward scattering processes for intra- and inter-modal interactions. Using heterodyne detection, Stokes and anti-Stokes components without external acoustic excitation are observed and quantitatively extracted Brillouin shifts, linewidths, and gain coefficients. Forward scattering is mediated by guided torsional-radial acoustic modes with frequencies ranging from MHz to GHz, while backward scattering involves longitudinal core-guided modes at frequencies of tens of GHz. These results provide calibrated benchmarks for Brillouin interactions in few-mode fibers, offering insights relevant to phonon-based quantum applications and mode-selective optomechanics.
In silica glass fibers, thermally excited acoustic phonons scatter light into the beam propagating in the forward direction. At acoustic frequencies up to several hundreds of megahertz, the wave vectors of the phonons interacting with the light propagate essentially transversally to the fiber axis. This effect is known as Guided Acoustic Wave Brillouin Scattering (GAWBS) and leads to phase and polarization noise in the guided light. For fiber-based quantum optics experiments, this excess noise is a major limitation. In Photonic Crystal Fibers (PCFs), light is guided by a microstructure simultaneously acting as a 2D transversal phononic crystal which modifies the acoustic noise spectrum. We demonstrate a GAWBS-noise reduction in commercially available PCFs. This gives rise to the prospect of fiber-based quantum optic devices exhibiting less excess noise, thus resulting in higher quantum state purity. Further improvement can be achieved by tailoring the photonic microstructure such that a reduction of phonon noise by design is achieved.
In this paper, we investigate slow light via stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in a room temperature optical fiber that is pumped by a spectrally broadened laser. Broadening the spectrum of the pump field increases the linewidth Deltaomegapof the Stokes amplifying resonance, thereby increasing the slow-light bandwidth. One physical bandwidth limitation occurs when the linewidth becomes several times larger than the Brillouin frequency shift OmegaBso that the anti-Stokes absorbing resonance substantially cancels out the Stokes amplifying resonance and, hence, the slow-light effect. We find that partial overlap of the Stokes and anti-Stokes resonances can actually lead to an enhancement of the slow-light delay-bandwidth product when Deltaomegapsime1.3OmegaB. Using this general approach, we increase the Brillouin slow-light bandwidth to over 12 GHz from its nominal linewidth of ~30 MHz obtained for monochromatic pumping. We controllably delay 75-ps-long pulses by up to 47 ps and study the data-pattern dependence of the broadband SBS slow-light system
Statistical properties of light produced in spontaneous Raman scattering on an ensemble of molecules indicate the quantum nature of this phenomenon. The scattered light is non-classical and has high non-classical intensity correlations between Stokes and anti-Stokes components. The temporal coherence of this light is well investigated, while many questions related to spatial coherence remain open. Recent experiments reveal two peculiar features of the spatial coherence of the Stokes and anti-Stokes light. First, the intensity correlations between Stokes and anti-Stokes light remain non-classical even for macroscopic samples containing many molecules. Second, these correlations decrease when signal propagates through a multi-mode optical fiber: the more propagating fiber modes at Stokes and anti-Stokes frequencies the less the correlations. Moreover, the second-order autocorrelation function of Stokes and anti-Stokes light also decreases with the number of propagating modes in multi-mode fiber. In this paper, we build a model of spontaneous Raman scattering correlations of light produced by an ensemble of molecules and propagating through weakly guiding optical fiber that quantitatively explains all these observations. We show that spacial orthogonality of the fiber modes makes the light propagating through these modes uncorrelated in the standard detection scheme. This leads to suppression of non-classical intensity correlations of the total field in the multi-mode fiber. We find the degree of non-classical correlations on fiber parameters. The obtained results pave the way for engineering of non-classical Stokes -- anti-Stokes correlations.
Slow light is generated via the gain mechanisms of nonlinear optical phenomena-- stimulated stimulated Brillouin scattering in optical fiber. Slow light is characterized in terms of Brillouin threshold, gain spectrum, Brillouin frequency shift by using optical heterodyne detection. According to the measured Brillouin frequency shift, we set our signal frequency in the gain region by manual matching method to get the maximum gain, and the gain bandwidth is broadened to 450MHz using a phrase-modulated pump. A delay of 32ns is achieved for the 500ns input signal when the gain is 15dB.