Conventional interferometers usually utilize beam splitters for wave splitting and recombination. These interferometers are widely used for precision measurement. Their sensitivity for phase measurement is limited by the shot noise, which can be suppressed with squeezed states of light. Here we study a new type of interferometer in which the beam splitting and recombination elements are parametric amplifiers. We observe an improvement of 4.1±0.3 dB in signal-to-noise ratio compared with a conventional interferometer under the same operating condition, which is a 1.6-fold enhancement in rms phase measurement sensitivity beyond the shot noise limit. The improvement is due to signal enhancement. Combined with the squeezed state technique for shot noise suppression, this interferometer promises further improvement in sensitivity. Furthermore, because nonlinear processes are involved in this interferometer, we can couple a variety of different waves and form new types of hybrid interferometers, opening a door for many applications in metrology.

Quantum noise is usually added in an amplification process through the internal degrees of the amplifier. Coupling the squeezed state to the internal degree can suppress the extra noise. Here, we demonstrate another method: when the internal degree of the amplifier is correlated with the input signal via quantum entanglement, quantum destructive interference between the input and the internal degree may result in noise reduction at the amplified output. We achieve a quantum noise reduction of 2.3 dB at the output and an improvement of 4.0±0.2 dB in signal-to-noise ratio during the amplification process with a quantum noise gain of 4.5 dB.

We present a novel fabrication technology for nano-structured graded index micro-optical components, based on the stack-and-draw method used for photonic crystal fibres. These discrete structures can be described with an effective refractive index distribution. Furthermore we present spherical nano-structured microlenses with a flat facet fabricated with this method and designed using an algorithm based on the Maxwell-Garnett mixing formula. Finally we show theoretical verification by using FDTD simulations for a nano-structured lens as well as experimental data obtained in the microwave regime.

We experimentally demonstrate the creation of two correlated beams generated by a nondegenerate four-wave-mixing amplifier at λ=795 nm in hot rubidium vapor. We achieve intensity difference squeezing at frequencies as low as 1.5 kHz which is so far the lowest frequency to observe squeezing in an atomic system. The squeezing spans from 5.5 to 16.5 MHz with a maximum squeezing of -5 dB at 1 MHz. We can control the squeezing bandwidth by changing the pump power. Both low frequency and controllable bandwidth squeezing show great potential in sensitivity detection and precise control of the atom optics measurement.

Two four-wave mixing processes have been employed to experimentally construct a nonlinear interferometer [Jing et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 99, 011110 (2011)], which has a better phase sensitivity than the traditional linear interferometer. For its applications in quantum measurement, interference fringe visibility can significantly affect the quantum detection efficiency. In this letter, we study how various parameters, such as the pump power, the one-photon detuning, and the two-photon detuning, influence the visibility of nonlinear interferometer. We find that the visibility greater than 0.9 can be achieved for large range of system parameters.

We show theoretical and experimental characterizations of a nanostructured gradient-index lens. The elliptical lens is a nonguiding element fabricated using the mosaic method, which is widely used for the fabrication of photonic crystal fibers. For the first time we show experimental data in the optics regime that confirm the effective medium approximation for discrete mosaic structures with subwavelength feature size. This opens the door for the development of general asymmetric gradient-index materials.

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