Limitations to the performance of nonlinear optical processes utilizing atomic vapors

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:5577435

Kauranen, M O

Performance characteristics of nonlinear wave-mixing processes that utilize atomic vapors as the nonlinear medium are investigated experimentally and theoretically for the case of optical phase conjugation and for the process of noise control of optical beams. A theory of the polarization properties of phase conjugation by two-photon-resonant four-wave mixing is developed. The theory includes the effects of saturation of the two-photon transition by the pump waves. For the case of an S [yields] S two photon transition, the vector character of the phase conjugation process is found to be degraded by the transfer of population from the ground state to the two-photon-excited state and by the Stark shift of two-photon resonance frequency. The case of circular and counterrotating polarizations is predicted to lead to perfect polarization conjugation for any value of total pump intensity as long as the intensities of the two pump waves are equal. The predictions of the theory are tested using the 3S [yields] 4S two-photon transition of sodium. The polarization-conjugation property of the interaction is limited to a phase-conjugate reflectivity of the order of 1% by the grating-washout effects. The interaction of a weak probe wave with a strong degenerate pump wave in a one-photon-resonant atomic vapor is found to give rise to increased fluctuations in the intensity of the probe wave as measured with a spectrum analyzer. The increased fluctuations result from the large two-beam-coupling gain experienced by the vacuum sidebands of the probe wave. This mechanism limits the amount of quantum-noise reduction that can be achieved by schemes utilizing four-wave-mixing in atomic vapors.

• Research Organization: Rochester Univ., NY (United States)
• OSTI ID: 5577435
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360606 -- Other Materials-- Physical Properties-- (1992-)
661300 -- Other Aspects of Physical Science-- (1992-)
664000* -- Atomic & Molecular Physics-- (1992-)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ALKALI METALS
ATOMS
BEAM OPTICS
BEAMS
DATA
ELEMENTS
ENERGY LEVELS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FLUIDS
FREQUENCY MIXING
GASES
INFORMATION
METALS
NOISE
NONLINEAR OPTICS
NUMERICAL DATA
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
OPTICAL PUMPING
OPTICS
PHOTON BEAMS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PUMPING
REFLECTIVITY
RESONANCE
S STATES
SODIUM
STARK EFFECT
SURFACE PROPERTIES
THEORETICAL DATA
VAPORS