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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Photon noise reduction by controlled deletion techniques

Jerome C. Mertz, A. Heidmann

Published Apr 1, 1993• 12 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We analyze different mechanisms for the generation of sub-Poissonian light beams within the framework of a simple photon model. In this model light is treated as a stream of discrete photon events that are localized in time. The course taken by each of these photons from its generation to its detection is evaluated according to the outcomes of several branching processes. We consider mechanisms in which the reduction of intensity noise below the shot-noise level is effected through control of photon deletion probabilities, both in a feedback configuration involving a single light beam and in a feedforward configuration involving twin light beams for which we explicitly include decorrelations. The resultant intensity noise spectra are evaluated analytically as well as numerically by Monte Carlo simulation. These results are compared with some corresponding results obtained from a semiclassical input–output analysis.

DOI
10.1364/josab.10.000745

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We analyze different mechanisms for the generation of sub-Poissonian light beams within the framework of a simple photon model. In this model light is treated as a stream of discrete photon events that are localized in time. The course taken by each of these photons from its generation to its detection is evaluated according to the outcomes of several branching processes. We consider mechanisms in which the reduction of intensity noise below the shot-noise level is effected through control of photon deletion probabilities, both in a feedback configuration involving a single light beam and in a feedforward configuration involving twin light beams for which we explicitly include decorrelations. The resultant intensity noise spectra are evaluated analytically as well as numerically by Monte Carlo simulation. These results are compared with some corresponding results obtained from a semiclassical input–output analysis.
We present a general theory for intensity noise reduction when one beam of light is used to control another. We use a semiclassical input-output formalism and determine the conditions necessary for noise reduction below the shot-noise level. Configurations are examined where the intensity of one beam is monitored and control is effected directly to the other beam (feedforward), or indirectly through the beam source (feedback). The results are applied to the case of twin beams generated by an optical parametric oscillator. We detail for this system the implementation of an electro-optic control channel. Finally, a comparison is made between theory and experiment.
We present a comparison of various mechanisms used to reduce the intensity noise in light by photon control. The configurations that we examine are of the general feed-forward type with correlated twin beams, in which one beam is monitored and used to control the other directly. The control is achieved by a photon-deletion mechanism with an analog modulator or a clock-triggered digital gate or, alternatively, by a novel photon-delay mechanism. The mechanisms operate over complementary frequency ranges and can be combined to yield effective noise reduction significantly beyond the control channel bandwidth. The mechanisms considered are nonlinear in general (except for analog control) and are studied by Monte Carlo simulation with a corpuscular photon model.
We present two experiment that demonstrate intensity noise reduction in light below the standard quantum noise level. A first experiment establishes a reduction of 86 % in the intensity difference noise spectrum of twin beams generated by an Optical Parametric Oscillator. The second experiment exploits this intensity correlation between the twin beams and uses one beam to electro-optically control the other, generating a single beam whose intensity noise is reduced 24 % below the shot noise level. General theories are presented for both processes using a semi-classical input-output formalism. Control configurations are examined where the noise reduction is effected directly from one beam to the other (feedforward), or indirectly through the pump beam (feedback). We determine the maximum amount of noise reduction that may be obtained from active control and detail for these configurations the limitations imposed by constraints of causality and stability. Finally, we demonstrate the equivalence of the semi-classical model with a "corpuscular" photon model in the small fluctuation limit, which we substantiate using Monte-Carlo simulation.
The author reviews methods for generating sub-Poissonian light and related concepts. This light has energy fluctuations reduced below the level which corresponds to a classical Poissonian process (shot-noise level). After an introduction to the concept of nonclassical light, an overview is given of the main methods of quantum-noise reduction. Sub-Poissonian processes are exemplified in different areas of optics, ranging from single-atom resonance fluorescence to nonlinear optics, laser physics, and cavity quantum electrodynamics. Emphasis is placed on the conceptual foundations, and on developments in laser theory that lead to the possibility, already demonstrated experimentally, of linewidth narrowing and sub-Poissonian light generation in lasers and masers. The sources of quantum noise in these devices are analyzed, and four noise-suppression methods are discussed in detail: regularization of the pumping, suppression of spontaneous-emission noise, nonadiabatic evolution of the atomic variables, and twin-beam generation.
Shot noise sets a fundamental limit on the sensitivity of classical optical measurements, with coherent emitters achieving the lowest possible shot-noise level. Emission from sub-Poissonian light provides a pathway to surpass this limit, and single-photon sources provide a natural platform for generating such light. However, it is commonly assumed that continuously excited single-photon sources exhibit Poissonian statistics. In this work, a theoretical model of a continuously driven two-level single-photon source is developed, treating both excitation and radiative decay as stochastic processes. The analysis demonstrates that photon emission can display sub-Poissonian statistics when excitation and decay rates are comparable, showing that continuous excitation does not inherently preclude nonclassical emission. The model is further extended to include finite detection efficiency and detector dead time, illustrating how these practical non-idealities can affect the experimental observation of sub-Poissonian statistics.