激光光场的大行程相位锁定及控制系统

提出了一种实现大行程飞秒激光脉冲对相位控制的方法。其设计思想是:在迈克耳孙干涉仪中,利用改变激光偏振态的方法改变输出两光束的光程差因子。在对He-Ne激光输出的两束光实现相位锁定的基础上,进而提出了一种可对于超短激光双脉冲相对相位差实现超大行程控制的方法。对He-Ne激光的动态相位锁定、以及飞秒激光脉冲对的相对相位差控制分别作了实验验证。对He-Ne激光的静态相位锁定结果表明干涉仪两臂光程差可以控制在纳米精度;而飞秒激光脉冲测量自相关曲线与理论拟合结果非常接近,经傅里叶变换可得到较好的单峰谱图。该系统能够在实验范围中几乎无行程限制地实现飞秒激光脉冲对的相对相位动态稳定控制。     

Dual-polarization mode-locked Nd:YAG laser

A mode-locked solid-state laser containing a birefringent element is shown to emit synchronously two frequency combs associated to the two polarization eigenstates of the cavity. An analytical model predicts the polarization evolution of the pulse train, which is determined by the adjustable intracavity birefringence. Experiments realized with a Nd:YAG laser passively mode locked by a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror are in perfect agreement with the model. Locking between the two combs arises for particular values of their frequency difference, e.g., half the repetition rate, and the pulse train polarization sequence is then governed by the relative overall phase offset of the two combs.     

Stable single-photon interference in a 1 km fiber-optic Mach-Zehnder interferometer with continuous phase adjustment

We experimentally demonstrate stable and user-adjustable single-photon interference in a 1 km long fiber-optic Mach-Zehnder interferometer, using an active phase control system with the feedback provided by a classical laser. We are able to continuously tune the single-photon phase difference between the interferometer arms using a phase modulator, which is synchronized with the gate window of the single-photon detectors. The phase control system employs a piezoelectric fiber stretcher to stabilize the phase drift in the interferometer. A single-photon net visibility of 0.97 is obtained, yielding future possibilities for experimental realizations of quantum repeaters in optical fibers and violation of Bell's inequalities using genuine energy-time entanglement.     

基于InAs单量子点的单光子干涉

利用分子束外延生长 InAs 单量子点样品,测量了温度为 5 K 时单量子点的荧光(PL)光谱.采用时间关联光子强度测量(HBT)验证了 PL 光谱具有单光子发射特性.单光子通过马赫曾德尔 (MZ) 干涉仪,验证了单光子自身具有干涉特性.测量了当 MZ 干涉仪两臂偏振方向的夹角改变时对应的单光子干涉及条纹可见度的变化. 关键词： 量子点单光子源 反群聚效应 马赫曾德尔干涉     

Generation of optical vector beams with a diffractive optical element interferometer

We present a novel approach to generating radially and azimuthally polarized vector beams that utilize an interferometer constructed from two identical diffractive optical elements. The measured polarization properties of four vector beam states and their phase relationships are in good agreement with theoretical expectations. This interferometer is passively phase stable and robust, making it suitable for linear and nonlinear optical (superresolution) microscopy.     

A novel fiber optic ring-down interferometer for sensing

A ring-down interferometer (RDI) based on a modified Mach–Zehnder structure by incorporating a pair of mirrors with very high reflectivity into each of its two arms, respectively is proposed in this paper. Launching a coherent light pulse into the interferometer, in each arm, pulse ring-down occurs between its two mirrors and outputs a chain of pulses. The two chains of pulses from the two arms combine and interfere pulse by pulse at the detector and the difference of the light phase between the two arms will be enlarged linearly in proportion to the times of ring-down.     

基于压缩光的量子精密测量

对任何物理量的测量都有一定的噪声, 经典测量所能达到的最小噪声一般称为散粒噪声, 对应着测量的标准量子极限. 利用压缩光可以突破标准量子极限, 从而提高测量精度. 本文介绍了压缩态光场用于突破标准量子极限的基本原理, 以及压缩态光场在相位测量、光学横向小位移及倾斜测量、磁场测量以及时钟同步等精密测量领域的应用和最新进展.     

光纤Sagnac干涉仪中单光子干涉及路由控制

介绍一种光纤中稳定的单光子干涉以及单光子路由控制方式. 使用Sagnac单光子环形干涉仪，通过分时相位调制，改变其顺时针和逆时针两路光子间的相位差. 在Sagnac单光子环形干涉仪中，顺时针和逆时针两路光子走过的是同一段光纤，简便有效地补偿了光纤长度随时间缓变带来的相位涨落，而且两路光子经历了相同的偏振模色散，较好地抑制了偏振态波动对单光子干涉的影响. 在长达5km的1550nm单模光纤中，获得大于98%的单光子干涉和大于90%单光子路由控制；在长度为27和50km光纤环路中，分别获得大于94%和84%单 关键词： 单光子路由 单光子干涉 Sagnac单光子环形干涉仪 量子保密通信     

Single-element interferometer

A very simple and stable interferometer using a single optical element - a beam-splitter cube - is presented. The device resembles a two-arm interferometer in which the arms are together in one collimated beam, and the two beam halves interfere with the help of the beam-splitter cube. The proposed device produces simultaneously two interferograms with a relative phase-shift of π (rad). Since the period of straight interference fringes can be stably controlled, the device has potential application in spatial-carrier interferometry and for flexible writing of fiber Bragg gratings.     

Robust one-beam interferometer with phase-delay control

A robust one-beam interferometer with external phase-delay control is described. The device resembles a Mach-Zehnder interferometer in which the two arms are together in one collimated beam. However, the proposed device is not an amplitude-division interferometer but a wave-front division one. The phase-delay control occurs at the interferometer output with the help of two polarizing beam splitters, a quarter-wave plate, a Faraday rotator, and a polarizer. An additional phase delay is introduced by application of an electrical current to the Faraday rotator or by rotation of the polarizer (the latter is of topological origin), which permits the use of techniques of phase-stepping interferometry.     

Phase locking of lasers with intracavity polarization elements

New configurations for phase locking several laser beams with intracavity polarization elements are presented. With this configuration we demonstrated efficient phase lock of up to 24 ND:YAG laser beams with only two polarization beam displacers.     

Single-photon continuous-variable quantum key distribution based on the energy-time uncertainty relation

We propose a new quantum key distribution protocol in which information is encoded on continuous variables of a single photon. In this protocol, Alice randomly encodes her information on either the central frequency of a narrowband single-photon pulse or the time delay of a broadband single-photon pulse, while Bob randomly chooses to do either frequency measurement or time measurement. The security of this protocol rests on the energy-time uncertainty relation, which prevents Eve from simultaneously determining both frequency and time information with arbitrarily high resolution. Since no interferometer is employed in this scheme, it is more robust against various channel noises, such as polarization and phase fluctuations.     

Solid-state interferometry of a pentaprism for generating cylindrical vector beam

We demonstrated the generation of a cylindrical vector laser beam using a pentaprism interferometer. The solid-state interferometer was made up of a trapezoid and right-angle prism, whose hypotenuse face was implemented with a polarization beam splitter coating that split a rotated TEM₀₁ mode beam into two orthogonal polarizations. The Ppolarized beam was reflected inside the prism twice, allowing a mode pattern without inversion; however, the Spolarized beam was reflected once resulting in mode patterns that form P-polarized beams rotated by 90°. We also held the phase shift of the two beams to zero by use of a phase shifter, thus the output of the superimposed beam was a radially polarized beam. We demonstrated the mode pattern and polarization purity of the output beam through the use of this configuration.     

Microscopy of non-birefringent transmissive phase samples using Sagnac laser interferometer

A cyclic interferometer, appropriately combined with a long working distance microscope objective, is adapted for quantitative phase microscopy. In such an arrangement, the sample information, in terms of the diffracted orders emerging from the sample, is carried by both the counter propagating beams within the cyclic interferometer. However, positioning the sample close to the input/output cube beam splitter and use of a suitably converging laser beam of light as the input to the interferometer ensure that only one of the counter propagating beams carries the object information to the objective while the other beam, which serves as the reference, allows only the undiffracted component to contribute to the process of image formation. Use of suitable polarization optics renders the interferometer its polarization phase shifting property. Using the proposed arrangement, the experimental results showing the quantitative 3D phase rendering of polystyrene microspheres and micro-wells etched in glass are presented.     

Quantum interference between a single-photon Fock state and a coherent state

We derive analytical expressions for the single mode quantum field state at the individual output ports of a beam splitter when a single-photon Fock state and a coherent state are incident on the input ports. The output states turn out to be a statistical mixture between a displaced Fock state and a coherent state. Consequently we are able to find an analytical expression for the corresponding Wigner function. Because of the generality of our calculations the obtained results are valid for all passive and lossless optical four port devices. We show further how the results can be adapted to the case of the Mach-Zehnder interferometer. In addition we consider the case for which the single-photon Fock state is replaced with a general input state: a coherent input state displaces each general quantum state at the output port of a beam splitter with the displacement parameter being the amplitude of the coherent state.     

General formulation of spin rotations in neutron interferometry

Starting from the fact, that different rotations can lead to states with the same polarization but different phases the expressions of intensity and polarization of the forward diffracted beam after a Laue-case single crystal neutron interferometer are derived for the general case of phase shifts and spin rotations in both beam paths of the interferometer. A basic and instructive experiment where the polarization of the emerging beam is rotated by phase shift is discussed.     

阿秒和频相位共轭极化拍频的不对称色锁二阶相干控制

研究了级联三能级系统中孪生色锁随机光场的相位共轭阿秒和频极化拍频(ASPB)不对称新效应。从理论上分析了自关联单光子简并四波混频(DFWM)和双光子非简并四波混频(NDFWM)信号辐射场与物质间不对等效应、混合型太赫兹失谐振荡特性,及双光子非简并共振四波混频信号的延时不对称性;同时也分析了由干涉计两臂不平衡色散效应引起的阿秒和频极化拍频信号的延时不对称性,即阿秒和频极化拍频信号的最大值相对于零延时有一个小偏移,结果表明该不对称性并这不影响阿秒和频极化拍频零差探测两偶极禁戒跃迁能级分裂的总体精度。阿秒和频极化拍频作为一种消除多普勒增宽的超快调制过程,从理论上说它可以扩展到任何两偶极禁戒跃迁能级系统。     

Coherent control of THz wave generation in ambient air

Our study of THz wave generation in the pulsed laser induced air plasma with individually controlled phase, polarization, and amplitude of the optical fundamental wave (omega) and its second harmonic (2omega) indicates that the third-order nonlinear optical process mixing the omega and 2omega beams in the ionized plasma is the main mechanism of the efficient THz wave generation. The polarity and the strength of the emitted THz field are completely controlled by the relative phase between the omega and 2omega waves. The measured THz field amplitude is proportional to the pulse energy of the fundamental beam and to the square root of the pulse energy of the second-harmonic beam once the total optical pulse energy exceeds the plasma formation threshold. The optimal THz field is achieved when all waves (omega, 2omega, and THz waves) are at the same polarization in the four-wave-mixing process.     

Generation of collinearly propagating orthogonally polarized beams

A simple monolithic device for simultaneous generation of collinearly propagating orthogonally polarized light beams of equal intensity is presented. The common cube beam splitter masked by two linear polarizers is used to achieve the purpose. This is experimentally verified through the use of a Stoke's polarimeter. It is also shown experimentally that the same setup behaves as a polarization phase shifting interferometer.     

Optical properties of polarization-dependent geometric phase elements with partially polarized light

The behavior of geometric phase elements illuminated with partially polarized monochromatic beams is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The element discussed in this paper is composed of wave plates with π-retardation and a space-variant orientation angle. We found that a beam emerging from such an element comprises two polarization orders; right-and left-handed circularly polarized states with conjugate geometric phase modification. This phase equals twice the orientation angle of the space-variant wave plate comprising the element. Apart from the two polarization orders, the emerging beam coherence polarization matrix includes a “vectorial interference matrix” which contains information concerning the correlation between the two orthogonal, circularly polarized portions of the incident beam. In this paper we measure this correlation by a simple interference experiment. In addition, we found that the equivalent mutual intensity of the emerging beam is modulated according to the geometric phase induced by the element. Other interesting phenomena concerning propagation will be discussed theoretically and demonstrated experimentally. The experiment made use of a spherical geometric phase element that was realized by use of a space-variant subwavelength grating illuminated with CO₂ laser radiation of 10.6 μm wavelength.