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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Quantum-noise reduction in semiconductor lasers

A. Jann, Y. Ben-Aryeh

Published May 1, 1996• 14 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A second-order correlation function approach is adopted to focus on the mechanism for generating amplitude-squeezed light in a semiconductor diode laser pumped with suppressed amplitude fluctuations. Second-order correlation functions between the electromagnetic field intensities and between the electromagnetic field intensities and the charge carrier numbers are calculated. Sub-Poissonian statistics and antibunching effects inside the laser cavity are analyzed; the analysis focuses on various quantities responsible for generating this state of the field. The influence of these quantities on the noise spectra of the detected field and conditions for quantum-noise reduction are considered.

DOI
10.1364/josab.13.000761

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A second-order correlation function approach is adopted to focus on the mechanism for generating amplitude-squeezed light in a semiconductor diode laser pumped with suppressed amplitude fluctuations. Second-order correlation functions between the electromagnetic field intensities and between the electromagnetic field intensities and the charge carrier numbers are calculated. Sub-Poissonian statistics and antibunching effects inside the laser cavity are analyzed; the analysis focuses on various quantities responsible for generating this state of the field. The influence of these quantities on the noise spectra of the detected field and conditions for quantum-noise reduction are considered.
The quantum noise properties of atomic and semiconductor lasers are compared. The intensity fluctuation spectrum of the output field is calculated for the case of regularly, i.e., sub-Poissonian, pumped lasers. The effects of spontaneous emission on the output amplitude fluctuations may be suppressed in regularly pumped atomic lasers by requiring the lifetime of the lower lasing level to be short in comparison with that of the upper laser level. The output amplitude fluctuations then tend to zero at the laser frequency. In regularly pumped semiconductor lasers, net stimulated emission of photons dominates over spontaneous emission because of the combination of pumping and rapid intraband thermalization due to Coulomb scattering.
We show that the injection of an external field in a laser helps to improve amplitude squeezing and sub-Poissonian light generation close to threshold, but spoils quantum noise reduction for very high pumping rates. A general nonlinear theory is developed for the resonant case (no detunings), without any assumption on the relative magnitudes of field and atomic decay constants, thus encompassing a large class of lasers. Several possible pumping schemes are accommodated, ranging from regular to Poissonian. We carry out a detailed stability analysis of the general equations of motion, relating it to the noise-reduction problem. Both the photon-number variance inside the cavity and the homodyne spectra of the output are discussed.
A new scheme for generating an amplitude-squeezed state is proposed. The photon-flux fluctuation of a semiconductor-laser output wave is measured with a quantum nondemolition (QND) detector, and is negatively fed back to the laser pumping current. The operator Langevin equations are derived by combining the quantum-mechanical analyses on the laser internal-external field fluctuations, the quantum nondemolition detector based on an optical Kerr effect, and a negative-feedback circuit. The output wave features a reduced photon number noise below the standard quantum limit, 〈(\ensuremath{\Delta}n^)2{)}^{2})2〉^〉, and an enhanced phase noise above that, 〈(\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\psi}^)2{)}^{2})2〉>(1/4)〈n^${〉}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$, while the minimum uncertainty product is still preserved. The observed photoelectron statistics in a negative-feedback GaAs laser diode using a conventional p-i-n photodiode (not a QND detector) are shown to exhibit sub-Poissonian statistics with the variance 〈(\ensuremath{\Delta}n^)2{)}^{2})2〉apeq20.26〈n^〉. The measured photocurrent fluctuation spectral density is also indicated to be below the standard quantum limit by a factor of 0.2 (=-7 dB). The experimental results also confirm that such amplitude squeezing is only observed inside the feedback loop and cannot be extracted from the loop unless a quantum nondemolition detector is used.
Intensity squeezed light was successfully generated using semiconductor lasers with sub-Poissonian pumping. Control of the pumping statistics is crucial and is achieved by a large series resistor which regulates the pump current; its sub-Poissonian statistics are then transferred to the laser output. The sub-Poissonian pumping of other laser systems is not so simple, however, and their potential as squeezed states sources is apparently diminished. We consider a conventional laser incoherently pumped well above threshold, and allow for pump depletion of the ground state. In this regime, sub-Poissonian photon statistics and squeezed amplitude fluctuations are produced.
The quantum correlation between junction voltage fluctuations1/frequency fluctuations2 and the intensity fluctuations of a semiconductor laser may be used to reduce the intensity noise. Here we address squeezed-state generation discussing both fundamental and practical limitations on noise reduction in conventional semiconductor lasers and microcavity lasers. In conventional semiconductor lasers, starting with intensity noise at the standard quantum limit, ideally a 3-dB amplitude squeezing is possible. This fundamental limit is set by spontaneous emission noise. Another fundamental limit is that noise reduction beyond the level set by optical losses and pump noise is not possible. It is also shown that the number-phase uncertainty in some conditions can reach the ultimate limit set by Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. These conditions are clarified and a comparison made between junction voltage and frequency noise feedforward. Feedforward schemes realizing intensity noise reduction are discussed.
We present a detailed analysis of the noise properties of a potential lasing scheme employing a coherently driven three-level system in the \ensuremath{\Lambda} configuration inside an optical cavity. We derive expressions for the steady-state laser intensity and the width of the intensity fluctuations and show that the output fields exhibit sub-Poissonian statistics for suitable operating conditions. The fundamental mechanism responsible for noise suppression is identified as increased intensity dissipation inside the cavity through emission and absorption by the atoms, which counteracts the intensity fluctuations.