Детальная информация

Classical spectral interferometry is a cornerstone of modern optical metrology, yet its performance is fundamentally limited by shot noise and parasitic interferences. Quantum and quantum-inspired approaches promise to overcome these limits but often at the cost of system complexity. In this work, we demonstrate a simple and robust method for generating bright optical radiation with super-Poissonian photon statistics using a standard single-mode fiber setup. The source is realized by amplitude-modulating a continuous-wave laser with a broadband electro-optic modulator driven by Gaussian noise. By controlling the DC bias point on the modulator’s cosine transfer function and the amplitude of the modulating noise, the photon-number distribution can be continuously tuned from Poissonian to super-Poissonian. A Hanbury Brown–Twiss interferometer with single-photon detectors is employed to record coincidence histograms and evaluate the normalized second-order correlation function. We show that the highest bunching peak, corresponding to strongly super-Poissonian statistics, appears when the modulator is biased at the minimum transmission point, where the intensity distribution becomes exponential. Interestingly, a comparable enhancement can also be achieved by operating at the linear point with a sufficiently large noise amplitude, leading to a bimodal intensity distribution. This alternative regime offers better signal-to-noise ratio and improved stability, making the source attractive for practical quantum-inspired interferometric measurements.