We demonstrate how noise can be turned into a resource} for optical sensing using a nonlinear cavity. The cavity is driven by a continuous wave laser into the regime of optical bistability. Due to the influence of fluctuations, the cavity randomly switches between two meta-stable} states. By analyzing residence times in these two states, perturbations to the resonance frequency of the cavity can be detected. Here, such an analysis is presented as a function of the strength of the perturbation and of the noise. By increasing the standard deviation of the noise, we find that the detection speed increases monotonically while the sensitivity peaks at a finite value of the noise strength. Furthermore, we discuss how noise-assisted sensing can be optimized in state-of-the-art experimental platforms, relying solely on the minimum amount of noise present in the cavity due to its dissipation. These results open new perspectives for the ultrafast detection of nanoparticles, contaminants, gases, or other perturbations to the resonance frequency of an optical resonator, at low powers and in noisy environments.

中文翻译：

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增强带噪声的非线性光学传感器的速度和灵敏度

我们演示了如何使用非线性腔将噪声转化为资源进行光学传感。腔被连续波激光器驱动到光学双稳状态。由于波动的影响，空腔在两个亚稳态之间随机切换。通过分析在这两种状态下的停留时间，可以检测到对空腔共振频率的扰动。在这里，这种分析是根据摄动强度和噪声的函数来表示的。通过增加噪声的标准偏差，我们发现检测速度单调增加，而灵敏度在噪声强度的有限值处达到峰值。此外，我们讨论了如何在最新的实验平台中优化噪声辅助感应，仅依靠腔体由于其消散而产生的最小噪声量。这些结果为在低功率和嘈杂环境中超快检测纳米颗粒，污染物，气体或对光学谐振器谐振频率的其他干扰开辟了新的前景。