A nonlinear symmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer was proposed for optical squeezing1,2, and it was shown that a nonlinear ring reflector with optical pulses is a practical realization of this squeezer2 (see Fig.1). Noise suppression in a balanced homodyne detection using this squeezing scheme was observed experimentally3,4.
A symmetric nonlinear Mach–Zehnder interferometer containing a Kerr medium performs the operation of squeezing. The operation is performed by the interference of cotraveling waves, and the pump wave is removed. This mechanism is broadband. We analyze the operation of the interferometer and determine the degree of shot-noise reduction achieved in a balanced detector. A modification of the interferometer into a fiber ring reflector is described that accomplishes the squeezing and the pump separation.
Summary form only given. Several schemes to generate squeezed light by use of the Kerr nonlinearity in optical fibers have been devised. The most recent experiments used asymmetric Sagnac loops to produce amplitude squeezing. In our experiment the Sagnac geometry is "unfolded" into a Mach-Zehnder, wherein the two arms of the interferometer correspond to the polarization modes of a single-mode PM fiber. This setup allows us to switch from an asymmetric to a symmetric interferometer, and gives us full control of the phase and amplitude of the two interfering pulses. With these degrees of freedom, we are able to maximize noise reduction and perform a full measurement of the noise properties of the soliton squeezed pulses.
A nonlinear symmetric Mach–Zehnder interferometer is analyzed. It performs squeezing and phase-sensitive amplification through forward degenerate four-wave mixing with automatic phase matching. Since the balanced interferometer is frequency insensitive, the operation is broadband. The squeezing performance is computed numerically by means of the quantum theory without approximation. This result is compared with the squeezing characteristics derived from the linearized representation. It is found that squeezed states can be produced without excess noise. Noise reduction of an interferometric measurement and phase-preserving amplification with this squeezer are also analyzed.