Intense squeezed light from lasers with sharply nonlinear gain at optical frequencies

Non-classical states of light, such as number-squeezed light, with fluctuations below the classical shot noise level, have important uses in metrology, communication, quantum information processing, and quantum simulation. However, generating these non-classical states of light, especially with high intensity and high degree of squeezing, is challenging. To address this problem, we introduce a new concept which uses gain to generate intense sub-Poissonian light at optical frequencies. It exploits a strongly nonlinear gain for photons which arises from a combination of frequency-dependent gain and Kerr nonlinearity. In this laser architecture, the interaction between the gain medium and Kerr nonlinearity suppresses the spontaneous emission at high photon number states, leading to a strong "negative feedback" that suppresses photon-number fluctuations. We discuss realistic implementations of this concept based on the use of solid-state gain media in laser cavities with Kerr nonlinear materials, showing how 90% squeezing of photon number fluctuations below the shot noise level can be realized.