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Optical transfer functions of Kerr nonlinear cavities and interferometers
Henning Rehbein1, Jan Harms, Roman Schnabel
1Institut für Atom- und Molekülphysik, Universität Hannover and Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut), Callinstrasse 38, 30167 Hannover, Germany.
Physical Review Letters
|December 31, 2005
Summary
We developed a method to calculate optical transfer functions for nonlinear cavities, enabling significant quantum noise squeezing for applications like gravitational wave detection.
Area of Science:
- Quantum Optics
- Nonlinear Optics
- Optical Engineering
Background:
- Nonlinear optical cavities are crucial for generating quantum states of light.
- Understanding optical transfer functions is key to designing advanced optical systems.
- Intensity-dependent phase shifts, like those in optical Kerr media, present unique challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present optical transfer functions for third-order nonlinear cavities.
- To provide a tool for calculating squeezed light sources and complex interferometer topologies.
- To analyze the noise spectral density of a Michelson interferometer with nonlinear cavities.
Main Methods:
- Utilized linearized transformations for calculating optical transfer functions.
- Modeled subsystems with intensity-dependent phase shifts (optical Kerr media).
- Analyzed a Michelson interferometer with Kerr nonlinear arm cavities and resonant sideband extraction.
Main Results:
- Derived optical transfer functions for nonlinear cavities involving carrier and sideband fields.
- Calculated the noise spectral density for a specific Michelson interferometer configuration.
- Demonstrated arbitrary quantum noise squeezing, even beyond the cavity linewidth.
Conclusions:
- The presented method offers a convenient tool for analyzing nonlinear optical systems.
- Arbitrary squeezing of quantum noise is achievable in systems with nonlinear cavities.
- Potential applications include advanced gravitational wave detectors and continuous wave squeezed light sources.
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