| A new system for generating squeezed light is presented with a discussion of its practical advantages and physical limitations. Quadrature squeezed light is produced for the first time in a quasi-phase-matched nonlinear waveguide using ultrafast laser pulses from a Ti:sapphire laser. Squeezing using two different waveguide crystals (potassium titanyl phosphate and lithium tantalate) is presented. The experiment is configured in a traveling-wave geometry and sub shot noise light is seen, with a maximum squeezing level of 28%, observed with a balanced homodyne detector. The primary limiting mechanisms appear to be blue two-photon absorption and blue-light induced red absorption. The behavior of the squeezing and absorption as a function of pump pulse energy and duration is investigated, a model based on these effects is presented, and possible circumventions of these limitations are discussed. |
