Abstract

The problem of creating a quantum superposition state or Schrödinger cat state of the electromagnetic field attracts now a lot of interest, as such states help to test basic principles of quantum mechanics and have many applications in quantum computing and precise measurements. Recently several schemes were proposed for generating a superposition of coherent states |α〉 and |–α〉 of a cavity mode [1,2], but in these schemes the superposition state is to be obtained in a closed cavity, as the interference term is quickly destroyed by the damping process. However there is no proposal for a steady-state source of the superposition state light. In our report we describe a way for obtaining such a source.

© 1996 IEEE