全固态单频连续波激光器因其噪声低、线宽窄、光束质量好、功率稳定性高等优点已经被广泛应用于产生非经典光场、冷原子物理研究、引力波探测等诸多领域。随着科学技术的不断发展，传统的全固态激光器的输出功率已经不能满足前沿领域的需求，因此亟需在保持全固态激光器整体性能的同时进一步提升激光器的输出功率。为此首先需要更高的泵浦功率，而这将使激光器内部增益提高，在腔内损耗不变的情况下，原非振荡模式也将满足起振条件，从而使激光器在跳模或多模状态下运转。此外，激光晶体的热效应和损伤阈值也限制了输出功率的提高。本文介绍了一种利用非线性损耗大幅度提升全固态单频连续波激光器的输出功率的技术和方法。通过在谐振腔中引入非线性损耗，使主模经受的非线性损耗是次模的一半。在模式竞争的作用下，谐振腔内的模式被更进一步的选择，从而允许全固态单频激光器在更高的增益下保持单纵模运转。通过在谐振腔内插入多块增益晶体可以有效缓解由于激光增益晶体热效应的限制，从而实现更高功率的单频激光输出。目前高功率全固态连续波激光器的输出功率已经达到了一百瓦的量级，且还在进一步提高。通过在谐振腔内引入非线性损耗，全固态单频连续波激光器的整体性能在得以保障和提高的同时，其应用范围也得到了进一步的推广。

We present a continuously tunable high-power continuous wave (CW) single-frequency (SF) Nd:YAlO3/lithium triborate (Nd:YAP/LBO) laser with dual-wavelength output, which is implemented by combining an optimized and locked etalon with an intracavity nonlinear loss. The obtained output powers of the stable SF 1080 and 540 nm lasers are 2.39 and 4.18 W, respectively. After the etalon is locked to an oscilating mode of the laser, the wideband continuous frequency tuning and long-term stable single-longitudinal-mode operation of the laser are successfully realized, which can be well used for the applications of quantum information and quantum computation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first realization of the continuously tunable high-power CW SF 1080/540 nm dual-wavelength laser.

Multi-beam laser processing is a very popular method to improve processing efficiency. For this purpose, a compact and stable multi-beam pulsed 355 nm ultraviolet (UV) laser based on a micro-lens array (MLA) is presented in this Letter. It is worth noting that the MLA is employed to act as the spatial splitter as well as the coupling lens. With assistance of the MLA, the 1064 nm laser and 532 nm laser are divided into four sub-beams and focused at different areas of the third-harmonic generation (THG) crystal. As a result, the multi-beam pulsed 355 nm UV laser is successfully generated inside the THG crystal. The measured pulse widths of four sub-beams are shorter than 9 ns. Especially, the generated four sub-beams have good long-term power stability benefitting from the employed MLA. We believe that the generated stable multi-beam 355 nm UV laser can meet the requirement of high-efficiency laser processing, and the presented method can also pave the way to generate stable and long-lived multi-beam UV lasers.

Quantum random numbers have an incomparable advantage over pseudo-random numbers since randomness originates from intrinsic property of quantum mechanics. The generation rate and the security of quantum random numbers are two significant indicators of a quantum random number generator (QRNG) for practical applications. Here we propose a mutually testing source-device-independent QRNG by simultaneously measuring a pair of conjugate quadratures from two separate parts of an untrusted continuous-variable quantum state. The amounts of randomness of the quadratures can be mutually estimated by each other via entropic uncertainty principle. Instead of randomly toggling between the conjugate quadratures of one state for collecting different types of data, two quadratures can generate check data and raw bits simultaneously and continuously in this mutually testing manner, which enhances the equivalent generation rate of private random bits to around 6 Gbit/s with a 7.5 mW laser beam. Moreover, the overall security is also improved by adjusting the conditional min-entropy in real time according to the continually monitored fluctuations of the local oscillator and the randomly measured electronic noise of homodyne detectors.

The optical cat state plays an essential role in quantum computation and quantum metrology. Here, we experimentally quantify quantum coherence of an optical cat state by means of relative entropy and the l1 norm of coherence in a Fock basis based on the prepared optical cat state at the rubidium D1 line. By transmitting the optical cat state through a lossy channel, we also demonstrate the robustness of quantum coherence of the optical cat state in the presence of loss, which is different from the decoherence properties of fidelity and Wigner function negativity of the optical cat state. Our results confirm that quantum coherence of optical cat states is robust against loss and pave the way for the application of optical cat states.

The uncertainty relation is one of the fundamental principles in quantum mechanics and plays an important role in quantum information science. We experimentally test the error-disturbance uncertainty relation (EDR) with continuous variables for Gaussian states. Two incompatible continuous-variable observables, amplitude and phase quadratures of an optical mode, are measured simultaneously using a heterodyne measurement system. The EDR values with continuous variables for coherent, squeezed, and thermal states are verified experimentally. Our experimental results demonstrate that Heisenberg’s EDR with continuous variables is violated, while Ozawa’s and Branciard’s EDRs with continuous variables are validated.

Squeezed states belong to the most prominent non-classical resources. They have compelling applications in precise measurement, quantum computation, and detection. Here, we report on the direct measurement of 13.8 dB squeezed vacuum states by improving the interference efficiency and gain of balanced homodyne detection. By employing an auxiliary laser beam, the homodyne visibility is increased to 99.8%. The equivalent loss of the electronic noise is reduced to 0.05% by integrating a junction field-effect transistor (JFET) buffering input and another JFET bootstrap structure in the balanced homodyne detector.

A low-noise photodetector is a basic tool for the research of quantum information processing. We present a specially designed low-noise photoelectric detector with a bandwidth of 130 MHz, using a transimpedance amplification circuit. Based on the detailed calculation of the dependence on each parameter of the detector, a useful method of how to design a low-noise and broadband photodetector is provided. When the optical power is between 1.0 and 16 mW, the photodetector has a good linear response to the injected light. Its electronics noise power is below 77 dBm, which is within the whole bandwidth. When the incident light power is 2 mW, the output noise powers are 10.0, 8.0, and 6.0 dB higher than the corresponding electronics noise within the bandwidth of 1–50, 50–90, and 90–130 MHz, respectively, which is in good agreement with the theoretical prediction. Thus, this photoelectric detector could have good application prospects in quantum communication and an optical cavity locking system.