title: Classical low-coherence interferometry based on broadband parametric fluorescence and amplification.
abstract: We demonstrate that single-mode broadband amplified spontaneous parametric downconversion, combined with optical parametric amplification, can be used as a classical source of phase-sensitive cross-correlated beams. We first study the single spatial mode emission and the spectral brightness properties of the parametric fluorescence, produced in periodically poled MgO-doped lithium niobate. Using the same single-pass bulk-crystal configuration for a pulsed optical parametric amplifier, we achieve a gain of approximately 20 dB at an average pump power of 2W, and explain the pulse narrowing observed at the output of both parametric fluorescence and amplification in the regime of high gain. Combining these two nonlinear processes, we measured optical coherence tomography signals with standard InGaAs photodiodes, thus realizing the first classical interferometer based on amplified parametric fluorescence. The results suggest their utility for demonstrating phase-conjugate optical coherence tomography.
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA. le gouet@mit.edu
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Le Gouët
authors.forename: Dheera
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Venkatraman
authors.forename: Franco N C
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Jeffrey H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shapiro
mesh_terms: D000669:Amplifiers, Electronic; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D007368:Interferometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000295:instrumentation*