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Nonlinear interferometer for tailoring the frequency spectrum of bright squeezed vacuum

Iskhakov, T., Samuel Lemieux, Angela M. Pérez, Robert W. Boyd, Gerd Leuchs, Chekhova, M.

Published Jan 1, 2016• 14 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We propose a method for tailoring the frequency spectrum of bright squeezed vacuum by generating it in a nonlinear interferometer, consisting of two down-converting nonlinear crystals separated by a dispersive medium. Due to a faster dispersive spreading of higher order Schmidt modes, the spectral width of the radiation at the output is reduced as the length of the dispersive medium is increased. Preliminary results show 30% spectral narrowing.

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We propose a method for tailoring the frequency spectrum of bright squeezed vacuum by generating it in a nonlinear interferometer, consisting of two down-converting nonlinear crystals separated by a dispersive medium. Due to a faster dispersive spreading of higher order Schmidt modes, the spectral width of the radiation at the output is reduced as the length of the dispersive medium is increased. Preliminary results show 30% spectral narrowing.
Bright squeezed vacuum, a promising tool for quantum information, can be generated by high-gain parametric down-conversion. However, its frequency and angular spectra are typically quite broad, which is undesirable for applications requiring single-mode radiation. We tailor the frequency spectrum of high-gain parametric down-conversion using an SU(1,1) interferometer consisting of two nonlinear crystals with a dispersive medium separating them. The dispersive medium allows us to select a narrow band of the frequency spectrum to be exponentially amplified by high-gain parametric amplification. The frequency spectrum is thereby narrowed from (56.5±0.1) to (1.22±0.02) THz and, in doing so, the number of frequency modes is reduced from approximately 50 to 1.82±0.02. Moreover, this method provides control and flexibility over the spectrum of the generated light through the timing of the pump.
Control over the spectral properties of the bright squeezed vacuum (BSV), a highly multimode nonclassical macroscopic state of light that can be generated through high-gain parametric down conversion, is crucial for many applications. In particular, in several recent experiments BSV is generated in a strongly pumped SU(1,1) interferometer to achieve phase supersensitivity, perform broadband homodyne detection, or tailor the frequency spectrum of squeezed light. In this work, we present an analytical approach to the theoretical description of BSV in the frequency domain based on the Bloch-Messiah reduction and the Schmidt-mode formalism. As a special case we consider a strongly pumped SU(1,1) interferometer. We show that different moments of the radiation at its output depend on the phase, dispersion, and the parametric gain in a nontrivial way, thereby providing additional insights on the capabilities of nonlinear interferometers. In particular, a dramatic change in the spectrum occurs as the parametric gain increases.
The bright squeezed vacuum state of light is a macroscopic nonclassical state found at the output of a strongly pumped unseeded travelling-wave optical parametric amplifier. It has been applied to quantum imaging, quantum communication, and phase supersensitivity, to name a few. Bright squeezed states are in general highly multimode, while most applications require a single mode. We separated two nonlinear crystals in the direction of propagation of the pump in order to narrow the angular spectrum down to a nearly-single angular mode. We observed noise reduction in the photon number difference between the two down-converted channels, which constitutes of proof of nonclassicality. By introducing a dispersive medium between the two nonlinear crystals, we were able to tailor the frequency spectrum of bright squeezed vacuum and to dramatically reduce the number of frequency modes down to 1.82 ± 0.02, bringing us closer to truly single-mode bright squeezed vacuum.
Abstract We theoretically investigate the nonlinear spectral broadening of bright squeezed vacuum (BSV) driven by Kerr nonlinearity in bulk sapphire and demonstrate a route toward generating ultrafast broadband BSV-based light. By analyzing the spectral evolution and frequency correlations during nonlinear propagation, we show that the intrinsic photon-number fluctuations sampled from the BSV input significantly enhance ensemble-averaged spectral broadening compared with coherent pulses of the same mean intensity. Quantum statistics enter through Husimi-Q sampling of the incident squeezed-vacuum state, whereas each realization is subsequently propagated as a semiclassical complex envelope. The generated broadband field exhibits strong photon-number and intensity correlations across a wide spectral range together with excellent temporal compressibility. After a common dispersion compensation, the source supports single-shot pulse durations ranging from approximately 7 fs to 70 fs. This work combines ultrafast temporal characteristics with quantum-originated input statistics in a single optical platform and may provide new opportunities for strong-field quantum optics, including high-harmonic generation and attosecond science.
Quantum frequency conversion, the process of shifting the frequency of an optical quantum state while preserving quantum coherence, can be used to produce non-classical light at otherwise unapproachable wavelengths. We present experimental results based on highly efficient sum-frequency generation (SFG) between a vacuum squeezed state at 1064 nm and a tunable pump source at 850 nm ±\pm± 50 nm for the generation of bright squeezed light at 472~nm ±\pm± 4~nm, currently limited by the phase-matching of the used nonlinear crystal. We demonstrate that the SFG process conserves part of the quantum coherence as a 4.2(±0.2\pm0.2±0.2)~dB 1064 nm vacuum squeezed state is converted to a 1.6($\pm0.2) dBtunablebrightbluesqueezedstate.Wefurthermoredemonstratesimultaneousfrequency−andspatial−modeconversionofthe1064−nmvacuumsqueezedstate,andmeasure1.1(0.2)~dB tunable bright blue squeezed state. We furthermore demonstrate simultaneous frequency- and spatial-mode conversion of the 1064-nm vacuum squeezed state, and measure 1.1(0.2) dBtunablebrightbluesqueezedstate.Wefurthermoredemonstratesimultaneousfrequency−andspatial−modeconversionofthe1064−nmvacuumsqueezedstate,andmeasure1.1(\pm0.2) dBand0.4(0.2)~dB and 0.4(0.2) dBand0.4(\pm0.2) dBofsqueezingintheTEM0.2)~dB of squeezing in the TEM0.2) dBofsqueezingintheTEM_{01}$ and TEM02_{02}02​ modes, respectively. With further development, we foresee that the source may find use within fields such as sensing, metrology, spectroscopy, and imaging.