Abstract

Second harmonic generation in the simple travelling plane wave configuration is often taken in textbooks as the simplest example of a nonlinear interaction. When one starts only from a nonzero field at the fundamental frequency, classical nonlinear optics predicts a monotonous energy transfer from the fundamental to the second harmonic mode, and a perfect doubling efficiency when the interaction length tends to infinity. The usual linearized approach of quantum optics predicts in the same configuration and for an infinite interaction length a perfect intensity squeezing for the fundamental wave and a 50% intensity squeezing on the second harmonic wave.

© 2000 IEEE