A graphical description of optical parametric generation of squeezed states of light

TL;DR

This paper introduces a visual graphical method to describe the process of generating squeezed states of light through optical parametric amplification, highlighting phase relations and nonlinear effects.

Contribution

It provides a novel graphical framework for understanding squeezed light generation via OPA, including phase interactions and higher-order nonlinear effects.

Findings

Visualizes phase-dependent amplification and deamplification

Illustrates transfer from ground state to squeezed vacuum

Describes generation of nonclassical states via nonlinear effects

Abstract

The standard process for the production of strongly squeezed states of light is optical parametric amplification (OPA) below threshold in dielectric media such as LiNbO3 or periodically poled KTP. Here, we present a graphical description of squeezed light generation via OPA. It visualizes the interaction between the nonlinear dielectric polarization of the medium and the electromagnetic quantum field. We explicitly focus on the transfer from the field's ground state to a squeezed vacuum state and from a coherent state to a bright squeezed state by the medium's secondorder nonlinearity, respectively. Our pictures visualize the phase dependent amplification and deamplification of quantum uncertainties and give the phase relations between all propagating electro-magnetic fields as well as the internally induced dielectric polarizations. The graphical description can also be used to describe the generation of nonclassical states of light via higherorder effects of the non-linear dielectric polarization such as four-wave mixing and the optical Kerr effect.