The Use of Optical Cavities for Modern Atomic Molecular, and Optical Physics

Published

December 1, 2003

Author(s)

J Ye, T W. Lynn

Abstract

For many contemporary physics experiments, the use of an optical cavity has become a powerful tool for enhancement in detection sensitivities, nonlinear interactions, and quantum dynamics. Indeed an optical cavity allows one to extend the interaction length between matter and field, to build up the optical power, to impose a well-defined mode structure on the electromagnetic field, to enable extreme nonlinear optics, and to study manifestly quantum mechanical behavior associated with the modified vacuum structure and/or the large field associated with a single photon confined to a small volume. Experimental activities that have benefited form the use of optical cavities appear in such diverse areas as ultra-sensitive detection for classical laser spectroscopy, nonlinear optical devices, optical frequency metrology and precision measurement, and cavity quantum electrodynamics (cavity QED). Of course the most important application of optical cavities is in laser physics itself. However, in this article we will concentrate our discussions on various applications of external optical cavities (independent from lasers) that take advantage of the common physical properties associated with resonator physics.

Citation

Advances in Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

laser physics, optical cavity, spectroscopy

Citation

Ye, J. and Lynn, T. (2003), The Use of Optical Cavities for Modern Atomic Molecular, and Optical Physics, Advances in Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics (Accessed July 26, 2024)