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Physical Review Letters

Joint Quantum Measurement Using Unbalanced Array Detection

M. Beck, Christophe Dorrer, Ian A. Walmsley

Published Nov 28, 2001• 37 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have measured the joint Q-function of a highly multimode field using unbalanced heterodyne detection with a charge-coupled device array detector. We use spectral interferometry between a weak signal field and a strong, 100 fs duration local oscillator pulse to reconstruct the joint quadrature amplitude statistics of about 25 temporal modes. By adjusting the time delay between the signal and local oscillator pulses we are able to shift all the classical noise to modes distinct from the signal. This obviates the need to use a balanced detector.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.87.253601

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We have measured the joint Q-function of a highly multimode field using unbalanced heterodyne detection with a charge-coupled device array detector. We use spectral interferometry between a weak signal field and a strong, 100 fs duration local oscillator pulse to reconstruct the joint quadrature amplitude statistics of about 25 temporal modes. By adjusting the time delay between the signal and local oscillator pulses we are able to shift all the classical noise to modes distinct from the signal. This obviates the need to use a balanced detector.
We measure the joint QQQ function of a multispatial-mode field using a charge-coupled device array detector in an unbalanced heterodyne configuration. The intensity pattern formed by interference between a weak signal field and a strong local oscillator is resolved using Fourier analysis and used to reconstruct quadrature amplitude statistics for 22 spatial modes simultaneously. The local oscillator and signal propagate at an angle of 12mrad12\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mrad}12mrad, thus shifting the classical noise to modes that do not overlap with the signal. In this configuration, balanced detection is not necessary.
We propose a novel method for measuring the multitemporal mode quantum state of repetitive radiation fields with ultrafast temporal resolution. The technique incorporates spectrometers at the output ports of a DC-balanced four-port apparatus. The signal field to be measured is delayed in time with respect to an ultrashort local oscillator pulse which is taken to be in a large-amplitude single temporal mode coherent state. A quantum-mechanical analysis shows that the Fourier transform of the spectrally resolved difference counts is proportional to the multitemporal mode Q -function describing the signal field statistics. We apply the technique to reconstruct the multitemporal mode Q -function from simulated data of repetitive broadband chaotic light from which we calculate the photon number correlations between pairs of temporal modes.
The technique of dc-balanced, pulsed homodyne detection for the purpose of determining optical-field statistics on short time scales is analyzed theoretically. Such measurements provide photon-number and phase distributions associated with a repetitive signal light field in a short time window. Time- and space-varying signal and local-oscillator pulses are treated, thus generalizing earlier treatments of photoelectron difference statistics in homodyne detection. Experimental issues, such as the effects of imperfect detector balancing on (time-integrated) dc detection and the consequences of background noise caused by non-mode-matched parts of the multimode signal field, are analyzed. The Wigner, or joint, distribution for the two field-quadrature amplitudes during the sampling time window can be directly determined by tomographic inversion of the measured photoelectron distributions. It is pointed out that homodyne detection provides a new method for the simultaneous measurement of temporal and spectral information. Although the theory is generally formulated, with both signal and local-oscillator fields being quantized, emphasis is placed on the limit of a strong, coherent local-oscillator field, making semiclassical interpretation possible.
We demonstrate that it is possible to use the balanced homodyning with array detectors to measure the quantum state of a correlated two-mode signal field. We show the applicability of the method to fields with complex mode functions, thus generalizing the work of Beck [Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 5748 (2000)] in several important ways. We further establish that, under suitable conditions, array detector measurements from one of the two ouputs are sufficient to determine the quantum state of signal. We show the power of the method by reconstructing a truncated Perelomov state, which exhibits complicated structure in the joint probability density for the quadratures.
A pulsed, balanced homodyne detector has been developed for precise measurement of the electric field quadratures of pulsed optical quantum states. A high level of common mode suppression (>85 dB) and low electronic noise (730 electrons per pulse) provide a signal-to-noise ratio of 14 dB for measurement of the quantum noise of individual pulses. Measurements at repetition rates as high as 1 MHz are possible. As a test, quantum tomography of the coherent state was performed, and the Wigner function and the density matrix were reconstructed with 99.5% fidelity. The detection system can be used for ultrarsensitive balanced detection in cw mode, e.g., for weak absorption measurements.