Lecture 4: Photon optics

Quantum/photon optics

Electromagnetic
optics

Wave optics
Ray
optics

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+ 1 Ray and wave optics
+ 2 Light beams and beam optics
+ 3 Optical resonators
+ 4 Photon optics
5 Optical gain
6 Laser oscillation
7 Pulsed lasers
8 Electromagnetic optics and crystal optics
9 Second-order nonlinear optical effects
10 Third-order nonlinear optical effects
11 Electro-optics
12 Acousto-optics
13 Ultrafast optics
14 Laser spectroscopy and microscopy
15 Laser fabrication and materials processing
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Quantum electronics and quantum optics
Light propagates along rays (lines) following simple geometrical rules

Light field is a scalar (no vector

components) wave,
propagates according to
Ray Maxwell’s equations
optics
Light is a composite wave
Wave optics consisting of coupled E and H
vector waves, propagates
Electromagnetic according to Maxwell’s
equations
optics
Light consists of particles
Quantum/photon optics (photons) which behave
according to rules of quantum
mechanics
History of photon
✦In 1900, Max Planck tried to resolve a long-
standing mystery concerning the spectrum
of blackbody radiation. He finally achieved
this goal by quantizing the allowed energy
values of each of the electromagnetic
modes in a cavity from which radiation was
being emitted.

✦In 1905, Albert Einstein extended the

notion of quantization by considered the
light itself to be a collection of photons. This
enabled him to successfully explain the
photoelectric effect.
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External photoelectric effect
外部光電効果：金属等に光を照射すると光電子が飛び出す

Experiment incident light: Result

Intensity I, for all Ek is independent
frequency f intensities of intensity

~h
(Plack’s const.)

total energy E Ek = hf0

kinetic energy EK max
Interpretation: energy of optical waves is
work function W0
absorbed in fixed amounts (quanta)
E = hν
E = W0 + Ek max Ek max = hν − W0
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Properties of photon
The photon is an elementary particle. It is the quantum of the
electromagnetic field including electromagnetic radiation such as light and
radio waves.
Planck’s constant
Energy

Polarization
(same as that of EM wave)
Linear,
circular,
elliptical
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Position
Same as that of EM mode. In a resonator, photon fills
the resonator.

The photon is more likely to be found at those locations

where the intensity of EM mode is high. How to define size of
the photon in free space? 7
Momentum
Momentum of a particle p = mv. EM field modes have no mass,
photons have no mass too, but for particles it is in principle possible to
define momentum from which their “effective” mass can be defined

The photon momentum has direction identical to that of the

propagating EM mode to which it belongs.
How to find the photon mass using these expressions? 8
Time
Single-frequency harmonic modes have no beginning and no
end, and a photon is equally likely to be detected at any time.
However, amplitude of polychromatic (multi-frequency)
modes has temporal peaks, when probability to find a
photon is maximum.

photon = wave packet

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Time-energy uncertainty
✦Single-frequency photon has frequency/energy strictly
defined (certain). However, time for such photon can not
be defined (uncertain)
✦Multi-frequency photon wave packets have frequency/
energy uncertainty. As this uncertainty increases,
certainty to find a photon in a defined time increases.
✦It follows that the energy uncertainty of a photon, and
the time during which it may be detected, must satisfy:

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Experimental proof of photon discreteness
Observing a weak photon stream
(low intensity wave)

Varying optical power = varying photon

arrival frequency

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Parameters of photon streams

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Photon and wave optics
Electromagneac radiaaon can be interpreted both as waves or as paracles
or photons (光子).
This wave-paracle duality is now common picture in opacs and quantum
mechanics. Manifestaaon of wave and paracle properaes of light depends
on the physical process concerned. For example, light reflecaon and
refracaon, Gaussian beam propagaaon, resonator modes, etc. can be
adequately described using wave opacs, whereas explanaaon of light
absorpaon and emission require photon or quantum opacal interpretaaon

Photon energy Photon frequency Photon velocity

(Planck’s formula) 1 c
hc c
E = ~! = h⌫ = ⌫= , ! = 2⇡⌫ v=p =
"µ n

Photon wave vector Photon impulse

2⇡
k=z p = ~k
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 Photons in free space and in a cavity
In free space, energy of a wave or a photon is not restricted.
However, waves and photons restricted inside resonators (cavities) can only
acquire energies allowed due to boundary conditions.
For example, in a planar Fabry-Perot resonator:
R1 d R2
wave function
U=0
U=0
compl. amplitude

R1=R2=1

Helmholtz equation & boundary conditions

Discrete wavelengths, frequencies and wave-vectors (impulses) for

waves and photons:
2d
d =
q
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Photons in cavity modes
✦ Only modes with discrete
frequencies are allowed
✦ The discrete frequency of the mode
means that photons in the city have
q=4 c discrete frequencies or energies
2d
q=3
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c Eq = h⌫q ; q = 1, 2, . . .
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2d
q=2 ✦ Each mode may contain N photons,
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c total energy in the mode is N(E)Eq

2d ✦Level occupancy N(E) depends on
q=1
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the energy
✦ In infinitely long cavity, c/2d = 0, and photons with any energy
can exist 15
Elementary interactions between photons
and atoms
excited state
(level)
Two-level
system
ground state
(level)

✦Three kinds of interactions: 1) absorption (induced), 2) emission

(spontaneous), 3) emission (induced).
✦Interaction probability is non-zero only for photon energy close to the
energy difference between the levels.
✦ Total number of transitions in a unit volume of a medium containing
many identical non-interacting two-level systems is determined by the
interaction probability (≈ spectral matching between the transition
and mode frequencies), and mode occupancy. 16
Absorption and spontaneous emission
Interaction between atom and an electromagnetic mode with frequency
hν0 ≈ E2 − E1
Probability density ( per second) of
absorption
Stimulated absorption
Level 2 (excited state)
radiation mode
containing a
photon n - number of photons in a cavity mode
V - cavity volume
σ(ν) - transition cross-section
Level 1 (ground state)

Spontaneous emission Probability density (per second) of

spontaneous emission into the given
mode

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 Absorption cross-section
incident transmitted photons
photon absorbed photons
stream transmitted photons

Lorentz functions

cross section lineshape function

S - transition
line width peak
strength, FWHM
oscillator
strength

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Absorption and spontaneous emission line
shape in wave and electromagnetic optics
Lorentz oscillator model
x
+ + - + - - x - displacement of a bound charge

- + - P = -e·x polarization
- +
+ - + -e·E(t) - driving field

damping constant resonance angular

(losses) frequency

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Susceptibility of a harmonic oscillator

Lorentz function: real part

imaginary part

Losses (absorption) Refraction (dispersion)

Lorentzian
function
frequency-dependent
Lorentz line shape refractive index
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 Stimulated (or induced) emission
Probability of stimulated emission

n - number of photons in a cavity mode

V - cavity volume
σ(ν) - transition cross-section

Stimulated emission produces two photons of the same frequency and phase.
It is therefore in principle possible to obtain optical gain (negative absorption).

Main difference between spontaneous and stimulated processes: probability

of stimulated processes (absorption and emission) can be controlled
(increased) by presence of photons in the cavity mode, whereas spontaneous
process (emission) probability cannot be controlled.
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Important points

❖External photo-effect
❖Properties of photons: frequency, position, momentum,
time, relationship with properties of waves
❖Energy levels and energy bands. Two-level system.
❖ Elementary interactions between photons and two-level
system.