Observation of Stochastic Resonance in a Ring Laser

We report the first observation of stochastic resonance in an optical device, the bidirectional ring laser. The experiment exploits a new technique to modulate periodically the asymmetry between the two counter-rotating lasing modes. The measurements verify that the addition of injected noise can lead to an improved signal-to-noise ratio (relative to that observed with no externally injected noise).