Frequency-tunable squeezed light for spectroscopy
Eugene Simon Polzik, J. Carri, Harry J. Kimble
A frequency-tunable source of squeezed light would allow investigations of the atom-field interaction in a regime where fundamental new phenomena have been predicted.1 There are also opportunities for spectroscopy with sensitivity beyond the shot-noise limit. Toward these objectives, in our experiment we employ a single-frequency Ti-sapphire laser with tuning optimized around 852 nm (cesium resonance transition). The infrared output of the laser is frequency doubled in an external buildup cavity with a KNbO3 crystal as the nonlinear element. Efficient doubling provides 0.65 W of tunable blue output for 1.35 W of infrared input. This blue output is then used to pump an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) containing a second KNbO3 crystal for downconversion back to the infrared. The high power of the blue pump that we have achieved and the large nonlinearity of KNbO3 allows us to employ an OPO that is resonant only for the subharmonic infrared light. This design facilitates tuning of the OPO compared with the case in which the blue pump and the infrared are both resonant. The doubling cavity, OPO, and laser itself are locked relative to a stable reference cavity by an rf sideband technique, thus providing the possibility for tunability of the system with a single knob.
Annual Meeting Optical Society of America•Jan 1, 1991•0 citations