Kavli Affiliate: Long Zhang
| First 5 Authors: Simeng Jin, Shuai Yao, Zhisheng Yang, Zixuan Du, Xiaobin Hong
| Summary:
Spontaneous Brillouin scattering (SpBS) provides a non-contact tool for
probing the mechanical and thermodynamic properties of materials, enabling
important applications such as distributed optical fiber sensing and
high-resolution Brillouin microscopy. Achieving metrological precision in these
systems relies critically on identifying fundamental noise sources. While a
pioneering study three decades ago numerically investigated an intrinsic SpBS
noise mechanism, this phenomenon has remained largely unexplored, particularly
in the context of Brillouin metrological systems. Here, by revisiting its
physical formation process and rethinking its stochastic behaviors, we develop
and experimentally validate a comprehensive analytical framework on this
long-overlooked noise source. Importantly, we theoretically predict, for the
first time, the SpBS noise is a universal and fundamental limit that can
dominate over conventional limits such as shot noise in Brillouin metrological
systems like imaging, microscopy and sensing. Specifically, we experimentally
demonstrate the SpBS-noise-limited regime in Brillouin imaging and sensing
scenarios. This framework establishes a critical foundation for understanding
and optimizing the performance bounds of current and future Brillouin-based
technologies across diverse applications.
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