Experimental Studies of Squeezed-State Generation by Four-Wave Mixing in an Optical Cavity (With 6 Figures)

Bernard Yurke, R. E. Slusher

Richard E. Slusher, Bernard Yurke, J. F. Valley

R. E. Slusher, Bernard Yurke, Leo W. Hollberg +1 more

Phase dependent nonlinear optical processes can make large fractional changes in the phase and amplitude of an optical field. An example is the prediction(1) that four-wave-mixing can generate squeezed states of an optical field where the variance in the two quadratures of the field are unequal. In order to observe squeezed states and utilize them in interferometric measurements this inequality in variances must be large (e.g. ≳ 50%). The large phase shifts required to achieve this regime of squeezing can be obtained near the threshold for oscillation of four-wave-mixing in an optical cavity. (2) This paper describes an experimental study(3) of four-wave-mixing in a cavity near threshold using the nonlinear index of the Na atomic resonance.

R. E. Slusher, Leo W. Hollberg, Bernard Yurke +2 more

Squeezed states of the electromagnetic field have been generated by nondegenerate four-wave mixing due to Na atoms in an optical cavity. The optical noise in the cavity, comprised of primarily vacuum fluctuations and a small component of spontaneous emission from the pumped Na atoms, is amplified in one quadrature of the optical field and deamplified in the other quadrature. These quadrature components are measured with a balanced homodyne detector. The total noise level in the deamplified quadrature drops below the vacuum noise level.

M. D. Levenson, Robert M. Shelby

Richard E. Slusher, Bernard Yurke, Leo W. Hollberg +1 more