Abstract

The fundamental and simplest kind of squeezing (broadband squeezing) is produced by pumping a nonlinear medium at a single frequency. The observables squeezed are the electric-field quadrature phases defined relative to the pump frequency. Their measurement requires homodyning against an optical-frequency (the pump frequency) local oscillator. When the medium is pumped at several different frequencies (equally spaced), different kinds of observables exhibit squeezing. Their measurement requires further homodyning, against a radio-frequency (the pump frequency spacing) local oscillator, and, for four or more pump frequencies, against subsequent lower-frequency local oscillators. For a given total pump power, it is possible to achieve greater squeezing by distributing the pump power over several (at least three) different pump frequencies than by pumping at a single frequency. The drawback is that a more sophisticated detection scheme is required (i.e., further homodyning) to measure the maximum squeezing (less squeezing is produced in more easily measured observables, such as the electric-field quadrature phases). The required further homodyning at rf and lower frequencies is straightforward to accomplish, however, and the advantages of using lower pump powers at each optical frequency can be substantial, especially in mediums such as optical fibers, where large pump powers bring with them substantial added noise sources.

© 1986 Optical Society of America