Abstract

Twin beams generated from a nondegenerate optical parametric amplifier (NOPA) of gaing possess¹ an intensity correlation that falls below the quantum limit by (2g – 1). This occurs whenever the input idler to the NOPA is in the vacuum state. Such input is practically advantageous because it makes the NOPA output intensities phase insensitive. When a non-vacuum idler input state is chosen, the NOPA output intensities become phase sensitive. For a proper input state and a suitable pump phase the output intensity correlation falls below the quantum limit by ${(\sqrt{g}+\sqrt{g-1})}^2$, which is 3 dB superior to the vacuum-idler-input result for g >> 1 and is equivalent to the quantum-noise reduction obtainable from a squeezed state generated with the same gain. Thus the sensitivity improvement achievable with NOPA twin beams by using direct detection is equivalent to that obtainable with squeezed states by using homodyne detection. The above equivalence also provides a new scheme for the generation of pulsed squeezed light that, in addition to being simple, automatically generates a matched local oscillator2 for homodyne detection of the squeezed pulses.

© 1992 Optical Society of America