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Annual Meeting Optical Society of America

Interference between resolvable wavelengths

Lloyd M. Davis

Published Jan 1, 1987• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

When a frequency stabilized dye laser (linewidth ~1 MHz) is passed through a 15.25-MHz Bragg cell, a Doppler-shifted beam emerges at a small angle. Lenses are used to cross this beam with the unshifted beam to form moving interference fringes at the photocathode of a streak camera. By using a large gain of the streak camera intensifier and an intensified low-background readout of the phosphor, single photons are detectable at the photocathode. This forms a novel Young’s experiment conducted with two resolvable frequency beams passing through one known pinhole each. If the photocathode could discriminate the frequency of the detected photon, and hence which beam it came from, or if either beam were blocked, zero visibility results. The experiment gives a direct measurement of the first-order cross-coherence at single-photon detection levels of two-frequency resolvable beams. By contrast, in quantum beat experiments only the photon probability intensity vs time is measured, and the beats are then attributed to a first-order cross-coherence of the quantum pathways. The question of the frequency spectrum and cross-spectral density of each detected photon is addressed with reference to a time-dependent physical spectrum of light.1

DOI
10.1364/oam.1987.tui3

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Recently we have reported[1] on the measurements of electronic dephasing (T_2) and radiationless decay (T_1) in molecules using emission spectroscopy as a probe for the detection of the photon echo. This right-angle photon echo utilizes a single mode of a narrow-band (~MHz) cw dye laser and an intracavity electro-optical (EO) element that modulates the frequency of the laser.[2] Applying voltage pulses into the EO crystal switches the laser frequency from ω_0 (the peak frequency of the transition resonance) into another frequency ω. This switching procedure introduced by Brewer et al. for the observation of transients in the forward direction of the laser allows one to observe coherent transients in gases,[1,2] solids[3-5] and molecular beams.[6] Typically, the dispersion of the nonlinear EO crystal (e.g., AD*P) gives a 60 MHz frequency shift within the inhomogeneous resonance of the optical transition (width ~GHz or larger). Therefore, to switch the laser frequency further, one must use high-voltage signals that are usually hard to obtain especially for multiple-pulse experiments. Secondly, there is a limit on the frequency shift which is conditioned by the mode spacing of the cavity. Thirdly, because the laser is switched into a new group of molecules some complications may arise in interpreting the transient spectra especially in large molecules. This is because in large molecules the density of excited states is high and thus the buildup of transients of w molecules (which could be complex) will be superimposed on the decay of ω_0 molecules. Finally, off-resonance effects (e.g., beats) between the molecules at frequency ω and ω_0 cannot be avoided.

Journal of the Optical Society of America A•May 1, 1978•1 citation
When a frequency stabilized dye laser (linewidth ~1 MHz) is passed through a 15.25-MHz Bragg cell, a Doppler-shifted beam emerges at a small angle. Lenses are used to cross this beam with the unshifted beam to form moving interference fringes at the photocathode of a streak camera. By using a large gain of the streak camera intensifier and an intensified low-background readout of the phosphor, single photons are detectable at the photocathode. This forms a novel Young’s experiment conducted with two resolvable frequency beams passing through one known pinhole each. If the photocathode could discriminate the frequency of the detected photon, and hence which beam it came from, or if either beam were blocked, zero visibility results. The experiment gives a direct measurement of the first-order cross-coherence at single-photon detection levels of two-frequency resolvable beams. By contrast, in quantum beat experiments only the photon probability intensity vs time is measured, and the beats are then attributed to a first-order cross-coherence of the quantum pathways. The question of the frequency spectrum and cross-spectral density of each detected photon is addressed with reference to a time-dependent physical spectrum of light.1
Interference between different photons occurs and has been observed under diverse experimental conditions. A necessary condition in order to obtain interference fringes is the existence of at least two possible paths and unknown which-path information. If the photon beams have different frequencies, stability of the sources and fast spatially distributed detectors are required in order to detect the time displaced interference fringes. First order optical interference between two truly independent CW laser sources is observed. In contrast with the standard quantum criterion, interference is observed although the photon beams are distinguishable and, from quantum measurements, the path is unequivocally known for each photon beam. Segments of the continuous wave wavetrains are selected with an acousto-optic modulator. Temporal and spatial interference are integrated in a single combined phenomenon via streak camera detection. The displacement of the fringes in the time versus space interferograms evince the trajectories of the labeled photons. These results suggest that in non-degenerate frequency schemes, the ontology has to be refined and the which-path criterion must be precisely formulated. On the one hand, if the query refers to the frequency labeled photons, the path of each red or blue photon is known, whereas on the other hand, if the query is performed in terms of the detected photons, the path is unknown.
A necessary condition in order to obtain interference fringes in QED is the existence of at least two possible paths and unknown which-path information. If the photon beams have different frequencies, stability of the sources and fast enough detectors are also required. In this experiment, first order interference between two truly independent CW Nd:YAG monomode laser sources was produced. Contrary to what is expected, interference is observed although the photon beams are distinguishable and the path is unequivocally known for each photon beam. Segments of the ultra-stabilized CW wavetrains are selected with an acousto optic modulator. Temporal and spatial interference are integrated in a single combined phenomenon via streak camera detection. In this way, interference fringes and frequency beating are both present in the streak camera images. The photon beams are labeled with two slightly different frequencies. In addition, the inclination of the beams establish the projection of their respective wave vectors in the detection plane, which may be seen as perturbations coming from two different slits. The fringes displacement in the time-space interferograms reveal the trajectories of the frequency labeled photons. Since the detection probability of any one photon is independent from the detection of the rest, the trajectory can be drawn for each frequency labeled event. These results indicate that in non-degenerate frequency schemes, the ontology has to be refined and the which path criterion must be precisely stated. If reference is made to the frequency labeled photons, the path of each photon is known, whereas if the query is stated in terms of the detected photons, the path is unknown.
Single-photon interference experiments are attempted in the time domain using true single-photon streams. Self-heterodyning beats are clearly observed by letting the field associated with a single photon interfere with itself on a field-quadratic detector, which is a time analogue of Young's two-slit interference experiment. The temporal first-order coherence of single-photon fields, i.e., transient interference fringes, develops as cumulative detection events are mapped point-by-point onto a virtual capture frame by properly correlating the time-series data. The ability to single out photon counts at a designated timing paves the way for digital heterodyning with faint light for such use as phase measurement and quantum information processing.
The interference of two single photons impinging on a beam splitter is measured in a time-resolved manner. Using long photons of different frequencies emitted from an atom-cavity system, a quantum beat with a visibility close to 100% is observed in the correlation between the photodetections at the output ports of the beam splitter. The time dependence of the beat amplitude reflects the coherence properties of the photons. Most remarkably, simultaneous photodetections are never observed, so that a temporal filter allows one to obtain perfect two-photon coalescence even for nonperfect photons.
Recently we have reported[1] on the measurements of electronic dephasing (T_2) and radiationless decay (T_1) in molecules using emission spectroscopy as a probe for the detection of the photon echo. This right-angle photon echo utilizes a single mode of a narrow-band (~MHz) cw dye laser and an intracavity electro-optical (EO) element that modulates the frequency of the laser.[2] Applying voltage pulses into the EO crystal switches the laser frequency from ω_0 (the peak frequency of the transition resonance) into another frequency ω. This switching procedure introduced by Brewer et al. for the observation of transients in the forward direction of the laser allows one to observe coherent transients in gases,[1,2] solids[3-5] and molecular beams.[6] Typically, the dispersion of the nonlinear EO crystal (e.g., AD*P) gives a 60 MHz frequency shift within the inhomogeneous resonance of the optical transition (width ~GHz or larger). Therefore, to switch the laser frequency further, one must use high-voltage signals that are usually hard to obtain especially for multiple-pulse experiments. Secondly, there is a limit on the frequency shift which is conditioned by the mode spacing of the cavity. Thirdly, because the laser is switched into a new group of molecules some complications may arise in interpreting the transient spectra especially in large molecules. This is because in large molecules the density of excited states is high and thus the buildup of transients of w molecules (which could be complex) will be superimposed on the decay of ω_0 molecules. Finally, off-resonance effects (e.g., beats) between the molecules at frequency ω and ω_0 cannot be avoided.