A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Measurement of the second-order coherence of pseudothermal light




AuthorsKuusela TA

PublisherAMER ASSOC PHYSICS TEACHERS

Publication year2017

JournalAmerican Journal of Physics

Journal name in sourceAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICS

Journal acronymAM J PHYS

Volume85

Issue4

First page 289

Last page294

Number of pages6

ISSN0002-9505

eISSN1943-2909

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1119/1.4975212


Abstract
We describe photon statistics experiments using pseudothermal light that can be performed in an undergraduate physics laboratory. We examine the light properties in terms of a second-order coherence function, as determined either by measuring the light intensity as a function of time or via coincidence analysis of a pair of photon detectors. We determine the coherence time and intensity distribution of the pseudothermal light source that exhibits either Gaussian or non-Gaussian statistics as a function of their optical parameters, and then compare the results with theoretical predictions. The simple photodiode method can be used for the qualitative analysis of the coherence time, but more accurate measurements are achieved using the coincidence method. (C) 2017 American Association of Physics Teachers.



Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 12:25