Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-19-2022
Department
Department of Physics
Abstract
The concept of exceptional points-based optical amplifiers (EPOAs) has been recently proposed as a new paradigm for miniaturizing optical amplifiers while simultaneously enhancing their gain-bandwidth product. While the operation of this new family of amplifiers in the classical domain provides a clear advantage, their performance in the quantum domain has not yet been evaluated. Particularly, it is not clear how the quantum noise introduced by vacuum fluctuations will affect their operation. Here, we investigate this problem by considering three archetypal EPOA structures that rely either on unidirectional coupling, parity-time symmetry, or particle-hole symmetry for implementing the exceptional point. By using the Heisenberg-Langevin formalism, we calculate the added quantum noise in each of these devices and compare it with that of a quantum-limited amplifier scheme that does not involve any exceptional points. Our analysis reveals several interesting results: most notably that while the quantum noise of certain EPOAs can be comparable to those associated with conventional amplifier systems, in general the noise does not follow a universal scaling as a function of the exceptional point but rather varies from one implementation to another.
Publication Title
Physical Review Research
Recommended Citation
Simonson, L.,
Ozdemir, S.,
Eisfeld, A.,
Metelmann, A.,
&
El-Ganainy, R.
(2022).
Nonuniversality of quantum noise in optical amplifiers operating at exceptional points.
Physical Review Research,
4(3).
http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.4.033226
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/16470
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Version
Publisher's PDF
Publisher's Statement
Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.4.033226