Quantum Theory of Distributed-Feedback Parametric Amplifiers and Oscillators
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Abstract
Optical parametric oscillators are among the best-developed quantum light sources, having already been adopted in precision measurement and underpinning various quantum computing and communication paradigms. Meanwhile, progress in photonic structures such as Bragg gratings has enabled distributed feedback oscillators to become widely established as classical laser sources with desirable properties, as well as enabling a new generation of precision optical sensors. Recent work in fabricating and processing photonic structures in nonlinear media opens the path to combining these two programs to realize distributed feedback parametric oscillators. Such devices have great potential as sources of quantum light, especially for squeezed vacuum, a crucial resource state in emerging quantum technologies. We present an analytic and fully quantum-mechanical model of the dynamics of such devices. This approach yields the key properties of these sources, such as the parametric oscillation threshold, intracavity mode, tunability, and quantum statistics (including entanglement) of the output modes. We also discuss the application of these devices as quantum-enhanced sensors. These results underpin future work on a versatile class of next-generation quantum light sources.