arXiv subjects

A. D. Stone

Publications and source records attributed to A. D. Stone.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Modeling Light Propagation and Amplification Efficiency in Highly Multimode, Yb-doped Fiber Amplifiers

Multimode fibers have been proposed for mitigating nonlinear effects in high-power fiber amplifiers, allowing for significant power scaling. Most previous studies on light propagation in continuous-wave fiber amplifiers focus on single mode or few mode fibers. Here we develop a tractable numerical model to simulate light propagation in narrowband, highly multimode fiber amplifiers, which takes into account gain saturation, pump depletion and mode-dependent gain. We consider a frequency domain, field based model, with modal gain being dependent on both intramodal gain and gain-induced mode coupling. We derive coupled equations for the evolution of signal modal amplitudes, pump power and population inversion, and numerically solve these equations using a finite-difference method. For highly multimode excitations, the optical intensity in the fiber is speckled and various modes grow at different rates, due to differential overlap with the gain medium and spatial hole burning. Our analysis is applied to Yb-doped fibers, with a quasi-quantitative analysis of the specific case of Yb, identifying different regimes in which either spontaneous emission (SE) or amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) limit amplifier efficiency, especially for larger core and multimode fibers. Finally, we incorporate ASE and spectrally resolved optical channels into our model and demonstrate the experimentally verifiable phenomenon of ASE suppression with sufficient input signal power. Our model can be combined with existing models for various nonlinear effects, providing a useful tool for quantitatively studying nonlinearity mitigation and power scaling in multimode fiber amplifiers.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Nonlinear exceptional-point lasing with ab-initio Maxwell-Bloch theory

We present a general analysis for finding and characterizing nonlinear exceptional point (EP) lasers above threshold, using steady-state ab-initio Maxwell-Bloch equations. For a system of coupled slabs, we show that a nonlinear EP is obtained for a given ratio between the external pumps in each resonator, and that it is associated with a kink in the output power and lasing frequency, confirming coupled-mode theory predictions. Through numerical linear stability analysis, we confirm that the EP laser can be stable for a large enough inversion relaxation rate. We further show that the EP laser can be characterized by scattering a weak signal off the lasing cavity, so that the scattering frequency spectrum exhibits a quartic divergence. Our approach can be applied to arbitrary scatterers with multi-level gain media.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2019

Quantum Noise Theory of Exceptional Point Sensors

Distinct from closed quantum systems, non-Hermitian system can have exceptional points (EPs) where both eigenvalues and eigenvectors coalesce. Recently, it has been proposed and demonstrated that EPs can enhance the performance of sensors in terms of amplification of detected signal. Meanwhile, the noise might also be amplified at EPs and it is not obvious whether exceptional points will still improve the performance of sensors when both signal and noise are amplified. We develop quantum noise theory to systematically calculate the signal and noise associated with the EP sensors. We then compute quantum Fisher information to extract a lower bound of the sensitivity of EP sensors. Finally, we explicitly construct an EP sensing scheme based on heterodyne detection to achieve the same scaling of the ultimate sensitivity with enhanced performance. Our results can be generalized to higher order EPs for any bosonic non-Hermitian system with linear interactions.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Low-spatial coherence electrically-pumped semiconductor laser for speckle-free full-field imaging

The spatial coherence of laser sources has limited their application to parallel imaging and projection due to coherent artifacts, such as speckle. In contrast, traditional incoherent light sources, such as thermal sources or light emitting diodes (LEDs), provide relatively low power per independent spatial mode. Here, we present a chip-scale, electrically-pumped semiconductor laser based on a novel design, demonstrating high power per mode with much lower spatial coherence than conventional laser sources. The laser resonator was fabricated with a chaotic, D-shaped cavity optimized to achieve highly multimode lasing. Lasing occurs simultaneously and independently in ~1000 modes, and hence the total emission exhibits very low spatial coherence. Speckle-free full-field imaging is demonstrated using the chaotic cavity laser as the illumination source. The power per mode of the sample illumination is several orders of magnitude higher than that of a LED or thermal light source. Such a compact, low-cost source, which combines the low spatial coherence of a LED with the high spectral radiance of a laser, could enable a wide range of high-speed, full-field imaging and projection applications.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2014

Scalable numerical approach for the steady-state ab initio laser theory

We present an efficient and flexible method for solving the non-linear lasing equations of the steady-state ab initio laser theory. Our strategy is to solve the underlying system of partial differential equations directly, without the need of setting up a parametrized basis of constant flux states. We validate this approach in one-dimensional as well as in cylindrical systems, and demonstrate its scalability to full-vector three-dimensional calculations in photonic-crystal slabs. Our method paves the way for efficient and accurate simulations of lasing structures which were previously inaccessible.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2013

Coherent control of total transmission of light through disordered media

We demonstrate order of magnitude coherent control of total transmission of light through random media by shaping the wavefront of the input light. To understand how the finite illumination area on a wide slab affects the maximum values of total transmission, we develop a model based on random matrix theory that reveals the role of long-range correlations. Its predictions are confirmed by numerical simulations and provide physical insight into the experimental results.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2013

Filtering Random Matrices: The Effect of Incomplete Channel Control in Multiple Scattering

We present an analytic random matrix theory for the effect of incomplete channel control on the measured statistical properties of the scattering matrix of a disordered multiple-scattering medium. When the fraction of the controlled input channels, m1, and output channels, m2, is decreased from unity, the density of the transmission eigenvalues is shown to evolve from the bimodal distribution describing coherent diffusion, to the distribution characteristic of uncorrelated Gaussian random matrices, with a rapid loss of access to the open eigenchannels. The loss of correlation is also reflected in an increase in the information capacity per channel of the medium. Our results have strong implications for optical and microwave experiments on diffusive scattering media.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2012

Pump-induced Exceptional Points in Lasers

We demonstrate that the above-threshold behavior of a laser can be strongly affected by exceptional points which are induced by pumping the laser nonuniformly. At these singularities, the eigenstates of the non-Hermitian operator which describes the lasing modes coalesce. In their vicinity, the laser may turn off even when the overall pump power deposited in the system is increased. Such signatures of a pump- induced exceptional point can be experimentally probed with coupled ridge or microdisk lasers.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Conservation relations and anisotropic transmission resonances in one-dimensional PT-symmetric photonic heterostructures

We analyze the optical properties of one-dimensional (1D) PT-symmetric structures of arbitrary complexity. These structures violate normal unitarity (photon flux conservation) but are shown to satisfy generalized unitarity relations, which relate the elements of the scattering matrix and lead to a conservation relation in terms of the transmittance and (left and right) reflectances. One implication of this relation is that there exist anisotropic transmission resonances in PT-symmetric systems, frequencies at which there is unit transmission and zero reflection, but only for waves incident from a single side. The spatial profile of these transmission resonances is symmetric, and they can occur even at PT-symmetry breaking points. The general conservation relations can be utilized as an experimental signature of the presence of PT-symmetry and of PT-symmetry breaking transitions. The uniqueness of PT-symmetry breaking transitions of the scattering matrix is briefly discussed by comparing to the corresponding non-Hermitian Hamiltonians.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2011

Unconventional modes in lasers with spatially varying gain and loss

We discuss a class of lasing modes created by a spatially inhomogeneous gain profile. These lasing modes are "extra modes", in addition to, and very different from, conventional lasing modes, which arise from the passive cavity resonances. These new modes do not have high intensity across the entire gain region, but instead are localized at the gain boundary and throughout the gain-free region. They are surface modes, originating from the transmission resonances of the gain-free region. Using an S-matrix description we connect these surface modes to the lasing modes in PT-symmetric (balanced gain-loss) cavities.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2010

Coherent Perfect Absorbers: Time-reversed Lasers

We show that an arbitrary body or aggregate can be made perfectly absorbing at discrete frequencies if a precise amount of dissipation is added under specific conditions of coherent monochromatic illumination. This effect arises from the interaction of optical absorption and wave interference, and corresponds to moving a zero of the elastic S-matrix onto the real wavevector axis. It is thus the time-reversed process of lasing at threshold. The effect is demonstrated in a simple Si slab geometry illuminated in the 500-900 nm range. Coherent perfect absorbers are novel linear optical elements, absorptive interferometers, which may be useful for controlled optical energy transfer.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2010

Modes of Random Lasers

In conventional lasers, the optical cavity that confines the photons also determines essential characteristics of the lasing modes such as wavelength, emission pattern, ... In random lasers, which do not have mirrors or a well-defined cavity, light is confined within the gain medium by means of multiple scattering. The sharp peaks in the emission spectra of semiconductor powders, first observed in 1999, has therefore lead to an intense debate about the nature of the lasing modes in these so-called lasers with resonant feedback. In this paper, we review numerical and theoretical studies aimed at clarifying the nature of the lasing modes in disordered scattering systems with gain. We will discuss in particular the link between random laser modes near threshold (TLM) and the resonances or quasi-bound (QB) states of the passive system without gain. For random lasers in the localized regime, QB states and threshold lasing modes were found to be nearly identical within the scattering medium. These studies were later extended to the case of more lossy systems such as random systems in the diffusive regime where differences between quasi-bound states and lasing modes were measured. Very recently, a theory able to treat lasers with arbitrarily complex and open cavities such as random lasers established that the TLM are better described in terms of the so-called constant-flux states.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2006

Photovoltaic Current Response of Mesoscopic Conductors to Quantized Cavity Modes

We extend the analysis of the effects of electromagnetic (EM) fields on mesoscopic conductors to include the effects of field quantization, motivated by recent experiments on circuit QED. We show that in general there is a photovoltaic (PV) current induced by quantized cavity modes at zero bias across the conductor. This current depends on the average photon occupation number and vanishes identically when it is equal to the average number of thermal electron-hole pairs. We analyze in detail the case of a chaotic quantum dot at temperature T_e in contact with a thermal EM field at temperature T_f, calculating the RMS size of the PV current as a function of the temperature difference, finding an effect ~pA.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Noise and Measurement Efficiency of a Partially Coherent Mesoscopic Detector

We study the noise properties and efficiency of a mesoscopic resonant-level conductor which is used as a quantum detector, in the regime where transport through the level is only partially phase coherent. We contrast models in which detector incoherence arises from escape to a voltage probe, versus those in which it arises from a random time-dependent potential. Particular attention is paid to the back-action charge noise of the system. While the average detector current is similar in all models, we find that its noise properties and measurement efficiency are sensitive both to the degree of coherence and to the nature of the dephasing source. Detector incoherence prevents quantum limited detection, except in the non-generic case where the source of dephasing is not associated with extra unobserved information. This latter case can be realized in a version of the voltage probe model.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2002

Quantum-Limited Measurement and Information in Mesoscopic Detectors

We formulate general conditions necessary for a linear-response detector to reach the quantum limit of measurement efficiency, where the measurement-induced dephasing rate takes on its minimum possible value. These conditions are applicable to both non-interacting and interacting systems. We assess the status of these requirements in an arbitrary non-interacting scattering based detector, identifying the symmetries of the scattering matrix needed to reach the quantum limit. We show that these conditions are necessary to prevent the existence of information in the detector which is not extracted in the measurement process.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2002

Resonant Cooper Pair Tunneling: Quantum Noise and Measurement Characteristics

We study the quantum charge noise and measurement properties of the double Cooper pair resonance point in a superconducting single-electron transistor (SSET) coupled to a Josephson charge qubit. Using a density matrix approach for the coupled system, we obtain a full description of the measurement back-action; for weak coupling, this is used to extract the quantum charge noise. Unlike the case of a non-superconducting SET, the back-action here can induce population inversion in the qubit. We find that the Cooper pair resonance process allows for a much better measurement than a similar non-superconducting SET, and can approach the quantum limit of efficiency.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2002

Chaotic light: a theory of asymmetric resonant cavities

Spherical and cylindrical dielectric cavities support high Q whispering gallery modes due to total internal reflection of the trapped light. When such a cavity is deformed smoothly the ray dynamics of these modes becomes chaotic in a manner determined by the KAM theory of classical hamiltonian dynamics. The universal properties of the ray dynamics predicted by KAM theory allow a general understanding of the whispering gallery modes of such asymmetric resonant cavities (ARCs). This theory combined with simulations of the non-linear map describing the ray motion provides the basis for a ray-optics model of the Q-spoiling of these whispering gallery modes for large deformations (greater than 1% of the radius). The model predicts a sharp onset as a function of deformation for significant Q-spoiling of these modes and highly directional emission above this threshold. Solution of the wave equation for typical whispering gallery modes confirms the qualitative behavior predicted by the ray-optics model even when the cavity is only a few times the resonant wavelength. The model explains for the first time the lasing intensity profile of highly deformed lasing droplets.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2001

Deviation from Snell's Law for Beams Transmitted Near the Critical Angle: Application to Microcavity Lasers

We show that when a narrow beam is incident upon a dielectric interface near the critical angle for total internal reflection it will be transmitted into the far-field with an angular deflection from the direction predicted by Snell's Law, due to a phenomenon we call "Fresnel Filtering". This effect can be quite large for the parameter range relevant to dielectric microcavity lasers.

physics.optics↗