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Physical Review A

Coherent nonlinear optical spectroscopy using photon-number squeezed light

Daniel C. Kilper, A. C. Schaefer, John Erland, Duncan G. Steel

Published Sep 1, 1996• 19 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Using coherent nonlinear optical spectroscopy below the band edge of a GaAs/${\mathrm{Al}}_{0.3}$${\mathrm{Ga}}_{1\ensuremath{-}0.3}$As multiple quantum well, photon-number squeezed light generated by a quantum-well laser is used to resolve the exciton resonances and the Urbach tail with detection sensitivity below the semiclassical shot-noise limit. The effect of polarization-dependent noise in the nonclassical probe field is also investigated.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.54.r1785

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Using coherent nonlinear optical spectroscopy below the band edge of a GaAs/{\mathrm{Al}}_{0.3}$${\mathrm{Ga}}_{1\ensuremath{-}0.3}As multiple quantum well, photon-number squeezed light generated by a quantum-well laser is used to resolve the exciton resonances and the Urbach tail with detection sensitivity below the semiclassical shot-noise limit. The effect of polarization-dependent noise in the nonclassical probe field is also investigated.
In this dissertation measurements are presented that extend our understanding of the important noise processes involved in the semiconductor laser generation of photon-number squeezed light. Strong sub-shot noise correlations between photon-number fluctuations on orthogonal polarization axes are observed in the output of a low temperature injection-locked quantum-well laser. Such polarization dependent effects are accounted for by intrinsic correlations generated in the laser gain medium and polarization mixing due to birefringence. Using polarization preserving balanced homodyne detection, up to 4.5 dB of photon-number squeezing is reported, which is within 95% of the expected maximum squeezing based on the device quantum efficiency. The work in this dissertation demonstrates the application of such nonclassical fields to practical measurements that achieve sub-shot noise sensitivity. Coherent nonlinear optical spectroscopy with a photon-number squeezed probe field is used to measure the Urbach tail and exciton resonances in a GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well with sensitivity below the semiclassical shot-noise limit. Direct drive current modulation of an injection-locked room temperature laser results in a nonclassical amplitude modulated field with a signal to noise ratio that exceeds the maximum ratio permitted for a classical source under equivalent modulation conditions.
The signal to noise ratio of optical systems is ultimately limited by the shot noise due to the Poissonian statistics of the light field. In recent years there has been a considerable effort to find ways to overcome this limitation by generating non-classical light with sub-shot noise statistics. Several groups have demonstrated non-classical light generation in diode lasers or light emitting diodes, and the amplitude fluctuations have been reduced substantially below the shot noise level [1,2]. However, for phase-sensitive measurements it is necessary to generate the more general quadrature squeezed states. Such quadrature squeezed light can be generated either by second-order or third-order nonlinear processes provided the nonlinear material has very low losses at the optical wavelength. To date, the successful generation schemes for quadrature squeezed light have been restricted to atomic vapours, optical fibres, or second-order nonlinear crystals [3]. The possibility of using the large χ(3) nonlinearities of semiconductors at frequencies below the band gap where the optical absorption is small has been discussed in the literature, but so far there have been no successful experiments [4-6]. In this paper we report measurements on GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As multiple quantum well waveguides and bulk ZnS in the wavelength range 750 - 890nm. Although we measure much larger nonlinearities in the quantum wells, the strong two-photon absorption is detrimental for squeezed light generation. However, in the ZnS where the laser frequency is below the two- photon absorption edge, we have succeeded in generating quadrature squeezed light in a semiconductor for the first time. On the basis of our results, we would expect that squeezed light could be generated in many other semiconductor systems provided the photon energy is less than half the band-gap energy.
Amplitude noise spectra from the nonclassical output of an injection-locked low-temperature quantum-well laser analyzed along orthogonal polarization axes reveals correlated polarization-dependent noise. Using polarization-preserving balanced homodyne detection to suppress these effects, we demonstrate photon-number fluctuations 4.5 dB below the semiclassical shot-noise limit (within 95% of the expected squeezing based on the device efficiency). Polarization mixing through birefringent components and, more significantly, correlated fluctuations originating in the laser gain medium are shown to account for the observations.
Summary form only given. Optical phase is conjugate to the photon-number in quantum optics and therefore is important for nonclassical states in which the photon-number operator is reduced below the semiclassical shot noise limit, i.e., for photon-number squeezed states. Nonclassical emission from semiconductor lasers has the added facet that excess phase fluctuations are correlated with fluctuations in the photon-number through the nonlinear gain, and this correlation extends below shot noise. In this experiment, quantum-limited number-phase correlations are examined using an external-cavity semiconductor laser with heavily suppressed (>40 dB) side modes and near ideal single-mode laser characteristics. A feedforward gain matching condition is found to limit the observation of a strong nonclassical effect.
Electromagnetic fields, with the noise on one quadrature component reduced to below the quantum mechanical zero-point fluctuation level and the noise on the other quadrature component enhanced to above it, are currently of great interest in quantum optics because of their potential applications to various precision measurements. Such squeezed states of light are usually produced by imposing nonlinear unitary evolution on coherent (or vacuum) states. On the other hand, squeezed states with reduced photon number noise and enhanced phase noise are generated directly by a constant current-driven semiconductor laser. This is the simplest scheme for the generation of nonclassical light, and so far it has yielded the largest quantum noise reduction. The mutual coupling between a lasing junction and an external electrical circuit provides opportunities for exploring the macroscopic and microscopic quantum effects in open systems.