QUANTUM-NOISE REDUCTION IN THE NONDEGENERATE 3-LEVEL MICROMASER

We present the theory of a micromaser operating on a cascade three-lev el atomic transition, which is coupled to two cavity modes satisfying the resonance condition. A numerical approach is employed to integrate the master equation describing the microwave field, allowing us to ob tain the semiclassical regime in the limit of large mean photon number s. We show that the transfer rate from the excited atomic stare is ver y close to 100% over a large interval of variation of the interaction time. The atom-held interaction time may be chosen so as to avoid tran sitions to the intermediate atomic state when in steady-slate operatio n. In this case, the two cavity modes have nearly the same photon stat istics, and the fluctuations in the difference of intensities may be r educed by up to 50% below the classical limit. The intensity correlati on between the two cavity modes originates from the possibility of con trolling the interaction time, rather than from the simultaneous gener ation of 'twin' photons in a two-photon transition.