Toward Noiseless Amplification and Frequency Conversion

Sergey V. Prants

Kumar

Muthiah Annamalai, Michael Vasilyev, Prem Kumar

We discuss the recent insights into the spatial-mode structure of traveling-wave optical parametric amplifiers, with focus on optical processing of quantum images.

A. S. Chirkin, E. V. Makeev

We develop for the first time a quantum theory of simultaneous amplification and frequency up-conversion of optical images in two coupled three-wave processes. The theory developed takes into account the diffraction effect and the difference of the group velocities of the interacting waves. Due to the degenerate parametric process involved in the nonlinear optical interactions, the up-conversion also possesses phase sensitivity. As a result, the statistical characteristics of the amplified image and the converted one depend on the phase relation between the signal and the pump waves. It is shown that at the output of the nonlinear crystal the signal-to-noise ratios for the amplified image and the converted one may be same as those for the initial image, i.e. transformation of the optical image may be 'noiseless'.

A. Mosset, F. Devaux, Éric Lantz

Colin J. McKinstrie

I will review the physics of parametric amplification and frequency conversion, and describe three recent applications of parametric devices: (a) low-noise four-fold multicasting, (b) hybrid amplification and (c) quantum-state-preserving frequency conversion for quantum communication systems.