Parametric-amplifier study of photodiode noise

The noise of diffused and alloyed germanium photodiodes was studied over the frequency range from 2 kHz to 20 MHz. A photodiode noise factor is introduced to describe the noise. The intrinsic noise, which may exceed the shot noise, depends on the shape of the current-voltage characteristic. The noise due to fluctuations in light intensity was measured.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii Fizika, No. 11, pp. 55–58, November, 1970.     

Transformation of the spectral density of intensity fluctuations of the pulsed radiation from a quasi-single-mode heterolaser in an optical fiber

The spectral density of intensity fluctuations of quasi-single-mode heterolaser radiation under pseudorandom pulsed modulation of the pumping current has been studied for the first time by numerical methods. In the limit of the second-order dispersion theory, the effect of the chromatic dispersion of an optical fiber on the noise characteristics of laser radiation (spectral density of fluctuations and signal-to-noise ratio in the operating range of the photodetector) was investigated. The effect of the laser parameters and modulation on the transformation of the intensity fluctuations in a fiber-optic communication line was studied.     

Theory of intensity noise in semiconductor laser emission

The intensity fluctuations expected in the output of cw semiconductor lasers are studied analytically using linearized multimode rate equations. Spontaneous emission causes intrinsic fluctuations of the laser wave. A power-independent contribution to the intensity fluctuations may occur due to inversion-induced modulation noise. The correlation of the low-frequency noise of different laser modes is investigated. The results are in agreement with experimental data reported in the literature.     

光纤激光经过模清洁器后的强度噪声分析

对1560 nm单频光纤激光光源通过一个光学模清洁器后的强度噪声进行了分析研究.实验观察到模清洁器虽然对于激光的高频强度噪声有明显的抑制作用,但强度噪声特性随频率呈一定周期变化,且在低频处模清洁器对强度噪声有放大作用.本文认为这是由于模清洁器具有类似于光纤延迟线的时延效应,将激光源的部分相位噪声转化为强度噪声.通过理论分析,由相位噪声转化的相对强度噪声幅度与激光相干时间、模清洁器的平均延时参数以及分析频率相关.分析结果与实验测量结果符合良好.此外,通过在光路中加入声光调制器进行反馈调制,激光的线宽从26 kHz压窄至16 kHz,模清洁器的锁定质量明显提高,经过模清洁器后的激光强度噪声有所减小,与理论相符.该结果进一步证实了由相位噪声转化而来的强度噪声与模清洁器的锁定质量无直接关系.通过该研究,完善了光学模清洁器对激光的噪声抑制模型.     

Suppression of classic and quantum radiation pressure noise by electro-optic feedback

We present theoretical results that demonstrate a new technique that can be used to improve the sensitivity of thermal noise measurements: intracavity intensity stabilization. It is demonstrated that electro-optic feedback can be used to reduce intracavity intensity fluctuations, and the consequent radiation pressure fluctuations, by a factor of 2 below the quantum-noise limit. We show that this reduction is achievable in the presence of large classic intensity fluctuations in the incident laser beam. The benefits of this scheme are a consequence of the sub-Poissonian intensity statistics of the field inside a feedback loop and the quantum nondemolition nature of radiation pressure noise as a readout system for the intracavity intensity fluctuations.     

Fluctuations in doubly scattered laser light

Fluctuations in laser light, doubly scattered by brownian particles, were analysed by measuring the spectral noise power of the photodetector current. Scattering took place at two spatially separated systems of spherical particles. Analytic expressions for the field and intensity correlations are derived. The analytic expressions for the spectrum of the intensity fluctuations of the doubly scattered laser light demonstrate that the frequency dependence of the spectrum depends strongly of the geometry of the experimental arrangement. This is not the case for singly scattered light where in good approximation the spatial and temporal correlations can be separated analytically.Our measurements show that the noise spectrum of the doubly scattered radiation may have the same frequency dependence as the spectrum of the singly scattered light. However, there are conditions where the frequency dependence of the noise of the doubly scattered light diverges markedly from that of the singly scattered light.     

偏置信号调制下色关联噪声驱动的单模激光的光强相对涨落

采用线性化近似，计算了由具有色关联的受偏置信号调制的色泵噪声和色量子噪声驱动 的单模激光增益模型的光强相对涨落，发现相对涨落随噪声强度的变化曲线中存在极小值，分析了偏置信号的强度、周期信号频率、噪声间的互关联强度和互关联时间对曲线的影响； 对单模激光增益模型在偏置信号调制和直接信号调制两种方式下的输出光强相对涨落进行了比较，发现光强涨落与偏置信号的强度密切相关. 关键词： 偏置信号调制 光强相对涨落 线性化近似     

Wideband phase-noise measurement of mode-locked laser pulses by a demodulation technique

A new method is proposed and demonstrated for measuring the phase noise (pulse timing fluctuations) of mode-locked lasers. The instantaneous phases of the pulse intensity are extracted in a time domain, and the phase-noise power spectral density is calculated from the demodulated signals. Compared with the conventional method based on the single-sideband phase-noise measurement, the proposed method has a larger dynamic range and a wider frequency span. The phase noise of a mode-locked Cr:LiSAF laser is measured for 50-mHz-1-MHz Fourier frequencies.     

Spontaneous noise spectroscopy of an atomic magnetic resonance

We have experimentally demonstrated a new type of noise spectroscopy, which requires neither amplitude nor frequency noise of the light source. A highly stabilized diode laser provides low-noise light for the optical magnetic resonance of Rb atoms. The laser light transmitted through the Rb vapor contains significant intensity fluctuations whose power spectrum has a distinct peak at the Larmor frequency. The fluctuations are spontaneously generated by the atoms and are attributed to the stochastic properties of the photon scattering which randomly interrupts the Larmor precession of the atomic magnetic moment.     

Application of optical pyrometry for on-line monitoring in laser-cutting technologies

The results of measurement of fluctuations of brightness temperature T in the region of exposure to laser radiation of a 3 mm-thick steel plate are presented. The local luminosity along the cut-front was measured using two-color multichannel pyrometer. Cutting trials were carried out with CO₂ laser (10.6 μm, 1200 W) and fiber laser (1.07 μm, 1800 W). Special attention was given to the frequency range of temperature fluctuations above frequency of melt overflight, aiming on on-line monitoring applications. It is shown that local fluctuations of T are related to local melt’s surface deformations due to unequal radiation absorption; thus the noise spectrum of T fluctuations reflects turbulent surface deformation, caused by gas jet and capillary waves. It is also shown that the thermo-capillary effect with capillary-wave turbulence generation can be observed in case of exposure to 10.6 μm radiation with a laser intensity of about 1 MW/cm². The power law of “−7/6” describes the spectrum of the T fluctuation variance in this case of anomalous absorption of radiation, and the standard deviation of T is in excess of 10 K for a frequency of 14 kHz. There is no such effect in case of fiber-laser radiation applying, and the source of the capillary waves is only forced low-frequency deformations of the melt surface. The standard deviation of T does not exceed 3 K on the frequency of 14 kHz, and above, and a power law of the spectrum fluctuation is described by about “−3” in that range.     

An increase in the sensitivity of the saturated absorption method in the multimode regime

A possibility for an increase in the signal-to-noise ratio in the laser spectroscopy that is free of Doppler broadening and is based on the saturated absorption is considered. The application of the counter-propagating laser beams in the multimode regime is proposed. The number of atoms that effectively interact with the field, and, hence, the intensity of a narrow resonance in the line shape can be increased due to the interaction of the counterpropagating modes with different frequencies. It is demonstrated that, for the intrinsic photon noise, the signal-to-noise ratio can be increased by a factor of √N, where N is the number of modes. For the remaining noises (fluctuations of the radiation power, noise of photodetector, etc.), the signal-to-noise ratio can be increased by a factor of N.     

光纤1/f热噪声的实验研究

光纤热噪声是限制光纤传感、测量系统性能的最终因素.但是低频区域呈1/f谱特性的光纤热噪声的形成机制迄今仍然存在争论.实验研究了光纤1/f热噪声水平与光纤内杂质离子浓度和光纤施加张力的关系,验证了这类热噪声来源于光纤内部的机械耗散引起的长度自发抖动,符合热机械噪声的理论假设.     

Intrinsic envelope fluctuations and modulation-detection thresholds for narrow-band noise carriers

A model is presented which calculates the intrinsic envelope power of a bandpass noise carrier within the passband of a hypothetical modulation filter tuned to a specific modulation frequency. Model predictions are compared to experimentally obtained amplitude modulation (AM) detection thresholds. In experiment 1, thresholds for modulation rates of 5, 25, and 100 Hz imposed on a bandpass Gaussian noise carrier with a fixed upper cutoff frequency of 6 kHz and a bandwidth in the range from 1 to 6000 Hz were obtained. In experiment 2, three noises with different spectra of the intrinsic fluctuations served as the carrier: Gaussian noise, multiplied noise, and low-noise noise. In each case, the carrier was spectrally centered at 5 kHz and had a bandwidth of 50 Hz. The AM detection thresholds were obtained for modulation frequencies of 10, 20, 30, 50, 70, and 100 Hz. The intrinsic envelope power of the carrier at the output of the modulation filter tuned to the signal modulation frequency appears to provide a good estimate for AM detection threshold. The results are compared with predictions on the basis of the more complex auditory processing model by Dau et al.     

利用共振无源腔分析和抑制飞秒脉冲激光噪声的理论和实验研究

理论分析了共振无源腔对飞秒脉冲激光的强度和相位噪声的转化模型,分析表明,通过测量无源腔透射场或者反射场相对于输入场强度噪声的变化,可以间接得到输入场飞秒脉冲激光的相位噪声.在此基础上设计了精细度约为1500、自由光谱区为75 MHz的八镜环形共振无源腔,并测量了钛宝石锁模激光经过该共振无源腔后透射场和反射场强度噪声的变化.实验观察到,飞秒脉冲激光经过无源腔透射后,强度噪声特性得到较好改善,在探测频率2 MHz附近达到散粒噪声极限.同时,结合共振无源腔对激光强度和相位噪声的转化模型,间接给出了钛宝石锁模激光的相位噪声及无源腔对相位噪声的有效抑制作用.     

Free-running frequency stability of mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers

The intrinsic frequency fluctuations of two single-mode quantum cascade (QC) distributed-feedback lasers operating continuously at a wavelength of 8.5 mum are reported. A Doppler-limited rovibrational resonance of nitrous oxide is used to transform the frequency noise into measurable intensity fluctuations. The QC lasers, along with recently improved current controllers, exhibit a free-running frequency stability of 150 kHz over a 15-ms time interval.     

Statistical properties of Er/Yb co-doped random Rayleigh feedback fiber laser

In this Letter, we experimentally investigate fast temporal intensity dynamics and statistical properties of the claddingpumped Er/Yb co-doped random Rayleigh feedback fiber laser(EYRFL) for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. By using the optical spectral filtering method, strong and fast intensity fluctuations with the generation of extreme events are revealed at the output of EYRFL. The statistics of the intensity fluctuations strongly depends on the wavelength of the filtered radiation, and the intensity probability density function(PDF) with a heavy tail is observed in the far wings of the spectrum. We also find that the PDF of the intensity in the central part of the spectrum deviates from the exponential distribution and has the dependence on the laser operating regimes, which indicates some correlations among different frequency components exist in the EYRFL radiation and may play an important role in the random lasing spectrum stabilization process.     

Time and frequency features of noise for a pulsed squeezed state field generated via degenerate four wave mixing

The time and frequency features of the fluctuations are studied for a pulsed squeezed state field generated by train of pulses produced by a mode-locked laser via degenerated four wave mixing. We propose an improved balanced homodyne detection scheme, which can be used to measure simultaneously the time variation and the frequency spectrum of the noise of in one quadrature component of the pulsed squeezed state field. The explicit expressions for the intensity and the noise as functions of time and frequency are derived. The features of the intensity and noise spectra are discussed. It is shown that the variation of noise with time exhibits a pulse train with reduced noise and the frequency spectrum of the noise displays some very interesting properties.     

The parametric Doppler effect upon oblique incidence of probe radiation

Transformation of frequency and intensity of probe radiation obliquely incident on a moving inhomogeneity induced by an intense laser radiation in a nonlinear medium is analyzed. The dependences of frequency and intensity of radiation reflected from the inhomogeneity have been found for a variant of frequency dispersion corresponding to collision-free plasma. These dependences possess singularities under conditions corresponding to the Vavilov-Cherenkov effect. The initially weak noise components of probe radiation increase in the reflected radiation up to a considerable value.     

Intensity fluctuations in a limited optical beam

An experimental study was made of the dispersion and correlation functions for intensity fluctuations of laser radiation at distances of 0.5, 2.4, and 7.0 km. The averaging due to the receiver aperture is less important than predicted by theory. The correlation time for the intensity fluctuations in the strong-fluctuation range is a weak function of the path length. At receiver-aperture sizes much greater than the size of the laser beam, large intensity fluctuations are observed, and the probability distribution for the intensity fluctuations is approximately normal.Translated from Izvestiya VUZ. Fizika, No. 2, pp. 52–56, February, 1970.     

Simultaneously suppressing frequency and intensity noise in a Nd:YAG nonplanar ring oscillator by means of the current-lock technique

We show that frequency and intensity noise in a Nd:YAG laser are correlated to a high degree and can be traced to the same underlying cause, namely, power fluctuations of the pump source. Because of this correlation, simultaneous suppression of frequency and intensity noise by 30 dB is achieved by means of a single actuator, the pump power.