Few-mode squeezing in type-I parametric downconversion by complete group velocity matching

Frequency-degenerate pulsed type-I parametric downconversion is a widely used source of squeezed light for numerous quantum optical applications. However, this source is typically spectrally multimode and the generated squeezing is distributed between many spectral modes with a limited degree of squeezing per mode. We show that in a nonlinear crystal, where the condition of complete group velocity matching for the pump and the signal is satisfied, the number of generated modes may be as low as 2 or 3 modes. We illustrate the general theory with the example of the MgO-doped lithium niobate crystal pumped at 775 nm and generating squeezed light at 1.55 μm. Our model includes the derivation of the degree of squeezing from the properties of the pump and the crystal and shows that 12 dB of squeezing can be obtained in a periodically poled crystal of length 80 mm.