Quantum fluctuations in an optical parametric amplifier

Abstract

The nondegenerate optical parametric amplifier (OPA) has many uses for investigating quantum fluctuations of light. Among them are EPR-type quadrature-phase correlations,1 QND measurement,2 and phase-sensitive quantum amplification.3 To study these problems, a reliable high-gain low-loss optical parametric amplifier (OPA) is crucial. Although OPAs operated at 1064 nm with KTP crystals pumped by a frequency doubled YAG laser exist,1 their performance is compromised because of problems with beam walk-off and polarization mixing for pairs of critically phase-matched KTP crystals. To avoid such problems, we have constructed a different nondegenerate OPA, which is operated at 1080 nm and consists of a single KTP crystal with type II noncritical phase matching. The pump beam at 540 nm for the amplifier is obtained from intracavity frequency doubling of a single-mode Nd: YAP laser with a similar KTP crystal as in the OPA.