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IEEE International Conference on Emerging Electronics (ICEE)

Balanced homodyne detection circuit design analysis for high gain and low noise performance

Akanksha Angural, Joyee Ghosh

Published Dec 11, 2022• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The study, generation, and application of squeezed states of light has been a widely researched area in quantum optics. Vacuum fluctuations or photon shot noise quantified in terms of quadrature operators, impose a quantum limit on the sensitivity of quantum sensing and quantum communication systems. Thus, squeezing the quadratures reduces the quantum uncertainty in a particular quadrature. The amount of squeezing is, however, highly limited by the optics in the experiments and the performance of the balanced homodyne detection (BHD) systems employed for the detection of the squeezed states of light. In this paper, we have analytically studied the steady state, transient and noise responses of the balanced homodyne detection (BHD) circuitry by comparing two configurations i.e., a variable gain circuit with a differential amplifier and a current subtracting circuit with differential fine-tuning circuit (DFTC) and an adjustable bias (ABV). The current subtracting circuit design with DFTC and ABV has been adopted from Xiaoli et al. [1] in order to compensate for any differences in the photodiode performance characteristics in the two arms. A variable gain configuration is used to compensate for the unequal beam splitter ratio and uneven optical powers in the two arms. In order to further improve the noise performance of the system, a differential amplifier is used in the output of the variable gain configuration. A high transimpedance gain (~>70 dB) and a low noise (~<500nV/ √ Hz) performance can be achieved using these circuits as per our analysis.

DOI
10.1109/icee56203.2022.10118151

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The study, generation, and application of squeezed states of light has been a widely researched area in quantum optics. Vacuum fluctuations or photon shot noise quantified in terms of quadrature operators, impose a quantum limit on the sensitivity of quantum sensing and quantum communication systems. Thus, squeezing the quadratures reduces the quantum uncertainty in a particular quadrature. The amount of squeezing is, however, highly limited by the optics in the experiments and the performance of the balanced homodyne detection (BHD) systems employed for the detection of the squeezed states of light. In this paper, we have analytically studied the steady state, transient and noise responses of the balanced homodyne detection (BHD) circuitry by comparing two configurations i.e., a variable gain circuit with a differential amplifier and a current subtracting circuit with differential fine-tuning circuit (DFTC) and an adjustable bias (ABV). The current subtracting circuit design with DFTC and ABV has been adopted from Xiaoli et al. [1] in order to compensate for any differences in the photodiode performance characteristics in the two arms. A variable gain configuration is used to compensate for the unequal beam splitter ratio and uneven optical powers in the two arms. In order to further improve the noise performance of the system, a differential amplifier is used in the output of the variable gain configuration. A high transimpedance gain (>70 dB) and a low noise (<500nV/ √ Hz) performance can be achieved using these circuits as per our analysis.
The rapid development of continuous-variable quantum communication has driven an increasing demand for high-performance quantum signal processing modules. Among these, the balanced homodyne detector (BHD) has emerged as a leading solution for practical quantum state measurement due to its capability to provide complete quantum mechanical characterization. However, its performance is often constrained by limited bandwidth and high noise levels, primarily due to the reliance on bulk optical components and discrete receiver electronics. The dominant noise source in these systems typically stems from electronic noise, while imbalances in the optical path further degrade the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the BHD. In this work, we present an adjustable integrated optical path to enhance the balance within the BHD system, along with a low-noise transimpedance amplifier (TIA) by employing optoelectronic co-design. Our design achieves a bandwidth of 2.5 GHz, an input-referred noise current of only 2 pA/√Hz in 180 nm CMOS technology, and a measured quantum shot noise clearance of 15 dB generated from a 700 μA photocurrent. This is the maximum quantum shot noise clearance at the same BHD photocurrent reported to date above the GHz bandwidth.
A balanced homodyne detector, with a maximum common mode rejection ratio and clearance of 75.2 dB and 37 dB, is experimentally obtained with two arbitrary photodiodes of the same model. On the basis of self-subtraction photodetector scheme, we divide the influence of photodiodes on the common mode rejection ratio into two parts, including magnitude and phase of output signal. The discrepancy of quantum efficiency and dark current affects magnitude of output signal of photodiodes, which is compensated by adjusting the splitter ratio. The difference of the equivalent capacitance and resistance affects the phase of output signal of photodiodes, which is compensated by the differential fine tuning circuit and adjustable bias voltage circuit. With these designs, the developed homodyne detector can be used for measuring accurately the squeezed state.
Balanced Homodyne Detection (BHD), introduced in the 1970s, enables highly sensitive detection of phase and amplitude variations in weak light. Initially developed as an advanced optical detection technique, it rapidly became essential in quantum optics for accurately quantifying quadrature components and detecting squeezed states at the shot-noise limit. Today, BHD plays a critical role in diverse fields such as high-precision quantum metrology, gigabit speed optical communications, gravitational wave detection, and large-scale quantum information systems. In this study, a BHD simulation was implemented with a 90 phase difference between the local oscillator and the signal, thus enabling the extraction of the phase quadratureP^component of the optical field.
Squeezed state light is a fundamental resource for many quantum optics experiments. Important applications like quantum-enhanced magnetometer and quantum key distribution, require the squeezing level as high as possible. In balanced homodyne detection, the detector output is directly proportional to the noise of the squeezed beam. The detected quadrature is dependent on the relative phase between the squeezed beam and local oscillator. Here, we present a balanced homodyne detector (BHD) with independent phase control and noise detection branches. The independence between the phase control and noise detection branches is experimentally verified, the two branches are independently optimized according to the practical requirements. With the BHD, a bright squeezed light at 1550 nm with quantum noise reduction of 10.3 dB is directly detected. After stabilizing the relative phase between the squeezed states and local oscillator by the phase locking branch of the BHD, the fluctuation of the noise suppression is ±0.2 dB by 1-h testing time.
In this paper, a model for simulating the shot noise power and the electronic noise power of a balanced homodyne detector (BHD) using cascaded low noise amplifiers (LNAs) is presented. Moreover, the factors influencing the enhancement of BHD gain flatness are analyzed. Based on these theories, a BHD with a large clearance between shot noise and electronic noise, along with a flat broadband frequency response, is designed using LNAs and an optimized printed circuit board design. According to the experimental measurements, the bandwidth for 1 dB flatness reaches 1.4 GHz with the -3 dB bandwidth extending up to 1.55 GHz. With a 4 mW optical signal input, a signal-to-noise ratio of 12 dB is obtained at 1 GHz. The BHD exhibits excellent linearity for shot noise output up to an 8 mW optical signal input and a tested common mode rejection ratio of 63 dB. This developed BHD is well-suited for applications in high-speed continuous variable quantum key distribution and quantum random number generation.
Quantum receiver scalability and cost-effectiveness are crucial in the evolving quantum landscape. Application based on squeezed light (e.g. high-precision measurements and quantum communication), can profit especially from integrated and low-noise detectors. The presented die-level receiver is shown in figure 1 a) and combines a novel custom transimpedance amplifier (TIA) with commercial photodiodes (PDs) [1]. This offers a more scalable solution than bulk balanced homodyne detectors (BHDs) while being low-cost compared to fully customized receivers. This design targets a high bandwidth operation while maintaining low-noise properties for the detection of weak quantum signals. To characterize this receiver, we evaluate its performance through measurements of clearance, and common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR). Based on these parameters, a simulation for its performance in the squeezed light detection measurement is presented.