A new scheme for generating an amplitude-squeezed state is proposed. The photon-flux fluctuation of a semiconductor-laser output wave is measured with a quantum nondemolition (QND) detector, and is negatively fed back to the laser pumping current. The operator Langevin equations are derived by combining the quantum-mechanical analyses on the laser internal-external field fluctuations, the quantum nondemolition detector based on an optical Kerr effect, and a negative-feedback circuit. The output wave features a reduced photon number noise below the standard quantum limit, 〈(\ensuremath{\Delta}n^
)2〉^〉, and an enhanced phase noise above that, 〈(\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\psi}^
)2〉>(1/4)〈n^${〉}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$, while the minimum uncertainty product is still preserved. The observed photoelectron statistics in a negative-feedback GaAs laser diode using a conventional p-i-n photodiode (not a QND detector) are shown to exhibit sub-Poissonian statistics with the variance 〈(\ensuremath{\Delta}n^
)2〉apeq20.26〈n^〉. The measured photocurrent fluctuation spectral density is also indicated to be below the standard quantum limit by a factor of 0.2 (=-7 dB). The experimental results also confirm that such amplitude squeezing is only observed inside the feedback loop and cannot be extracted from the loop unless a quantum nondemolition detector is used.
Sub-Poissonian photoelectron statistics have been produced by using the detection of down-converted photons in a trigger channel, having an electronic dead time, fed back to gate conjugate photoelectrons in a signal channel. With suitable choice of gate width and dead time a second factorial moment of the photo-electron count distribution as low as 0.4 has been achieved with considerable improvements in signal variance over equivalent Poisson sources. Suitable modification of the apparatus to produce sub-Poissonian photons rather than photoelectrons is described.