Fundamental limits of laser power stabilization via a radiation pressure transfer scheme

Traditional active laser power stabilization schemes are fundamentally limited by quantum shot noise on the in-loop photodetector. One way to overcome this limitation is to implement a nondemolition sensing scheme where laser power fluctuations are transferred to motion of a micro-oscillator, which can be sensed with a high signal-to-noise ratio. In this Letter, we analyze the power stability achievable in a nondemolition scheme limited by quantum and thermal noise. Under the assumption of realistic experimental parameters, we show that generation of a strong bright squeezed quantum state of light should be possible. (C) 2020 Optical Society of America