Abstract

The phenomenon of photon antibunching is an important manifestation of the nonclassical nature of light.¹ We have performed an experiment to show the nonclassical nature of the squeezed light by measuring the second-order correlation function (intensity correlation). The squeezed coherent light is generated in a parametric amplifier. When two photons are simultaneously absorbed in a parametric process, intensity correlation for τ= 0 decreases (antibunching). On the other hand, when two photons are simultaneously emitted, it increases (bunching). The direction of the energy flow between the input field at frequency ω and the pump field at frequency 2ω depends on the relative phase of the two fields. So both antibunching and bunching can be realized by changing the relative phase.

© 1993 Optical Society of America