The noise properties of both phase-sensitive and phase-insensitive saturated parametric amplifiers are studied using a semi-classical approach. Vacuum fluctuations as well as spontaneous Raman scattering are included in the analysis.
We present a semi-classical approach for predicting the quantum noise properties of fiber optical parametric amplifiers. The unavoidable contributors of noise, vacuum fluctuations, loss-induced noise, and spontaneous Raman scattering, are included in the analysis of both phase-insensitive and phase-sensitive amplifiers. We show that the model agrees with earlier fully quantum approaches in the linear gain regime, whereas in the saturated gain regime, in which the classical equations are valid, we predict that the amplifier increases the signal-to-noise ratio by generating an amplitude-squeezed state of light. Also, in the same process, we analyze the quantum noise properties of the pump, which is difficult using standard quantum approaches, and we discover that the pump displays complicated dynamics in both the linear and the nonlinear gain regimes.
Fiber optical parametric processes offer a wide range of applications including phase sensitive as well as phase insensitive amplification, wavelength conversion and signal regeneration. One of the difficult challenges is any of these applications is to predict their associated noise performance. However, it is well accepted that one contribution to the noise performance originates from vacuum fluctuations. In this work we show a novel approach to predict the spontaneous radiation from a parametric amplifier. In the approach the propagating fields are treated as a sum of a classical mean field and a perturbation defined from quantum optics relations.
Semi-classical noise characteristics are derived for the cascade of a non-degenerate phase-insensitive (PI) and a phase-sensitive (PS) fiber optical parametric amplifier (FOPA). The analysis is proved to be consistent with the quantum theory under the large-photon number assumption. Based on this, we show that the noise figure (NF) of the PS-FOPA at the second stage can be obtained via relative-intensity-noise (RIN) subtraction method after averaging the signal and idler NFs. Negative signal and idler NFs are measured, and <2 dB NF at >16 dB PS gain is estimated when considering the combined signal and idler input, which is believed to be the lowest measured NF of a non-degenerate PS amplifier to this date. The limitation of the RIN subtraction method attributed to pump transferred noise and Raman phonon induced noise is also discussed.