We analyze the statistics of photons originating from amplified spontaneous emission generated by a quantum dot superluminescent diode. Experimentally detectable emission properties are taken into account by parametrizing the corresponding quantum state as a multimode phase-randomized Gaussian density operator. The validity of this model is proven in two subsequent experiments using fast two-photon-absorption detection observing second-order equal-time and second-order fully time-resolved intensity correlations on femtosecond timescales. In the first experiment, we study the photon statistics when the number of contributing longitudinal modes is systematically reduced by applying well-controlled optical feedback. In a second experiment, we add coherent light from a single-mode laser diode to quantum dot superluminescent diode broadband radiation. Tuning the power ratio, we realize tailored second-order correlations ranging from Gaussian to Poissonian statistics. Both experiments are very well matched by theory, thus giving first insights into the quantum properties of radiation from quantum dot superluminescent diodes.

We present a microscopic theory of the amplified spontaneous emission of a spectrally broadband quantum dot superluminescent diode within the quantum white noise limit. From this multimode quantum theory, we have the ability to obtain all orders of temporal correlation functions. In particular, we derive rate equations for the optical power densities, the level occupation of inhomogeneous ensemble of quantum dots within the diode, as well as the emitted optical spectra. As the main result, we find the external power spectrum as a convolution of the intra-diode photon spectrum with a Lorentzian response. Assuming a Gaussian light-matter coupling results in a similar shaped Gaussian output spectrum, which agrees very well with available experimental data.Keywords: quantum dot superluminescent diodes, power spectrum, ASE, amplified spontaneous emission, photon statistics, quantum dot, quantum fluctuation, Ito formalism, input-output formalism, quantum stochastic differential equations, multimode laser theory, rate equations, correlation function.

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