Classical and Quantum Nonlinear Optical Information Processing

Citation

Tsang, Mankei (2006) Classical and Quantum Nonlinear Optical Information Processing. Dissertation (Ph.D.), California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/BG6Y-VX33. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-05032006-154541

Abstract

This thesis is a theoretical investigation of the classical and quantum information processing enabled by the advent of modern ultrafast nonlinear optics.

Chapter 2 and 3 study the propagation of ultrashort optical pulses in optical fibers, and propose two methods of compensating the linear and nonlinear distortions experienced by the pulses, namely, reverse propagation and spectral phase conjugation. Chapter 4 and 5 suggest different schemes that implement spectral phase conjugation.

Chapter 6 and 7 establish the connection between classical spectral phase conjugation and quantum coincident frequency entanglement. Chapter 6 shows how a spectral phase conjugator can create coincident frequency entangled photon pairs, and Chapter 7 in turn demonstrates how a coincident frequency entanglement generator can perform spectral phase conjugation.

The next three chapters, 8, 9, and 10, focus on quantum spatiotemporal information processing. Chapter 8 studies the temporal properties of entangled photon pair propagation and proposes the concept of quantum temporal imaging. Chapter 9 investigates how optical solitons can be used to perform quantum timing jitter reduction and temporal entanglement, while Chapter 10 applies the same idea to the spatial domain for quantum spatial information processing tasks, such as spatial beam displacement uncertainty reduction and quantum lithography.

The final two chapters return to a couple of miscellaneous problems in classical optics. Chapter 11 shows how a pair of dielectric slabs can amplify the near field of an optical image. Chapter 12 explores the similarities between nonlinear optics and fluid dynamics, and speculates on the possibility of using nonlinear optics experiments to simulate fluid dynamics problems.

Thesis Files