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Optics Letters

Single-element balanced detector giving 65 dB CMRR at 30 MHz

Kelly Badilla-Nunez, Wei‐Wen Chen, Marcus T. Cicerone

Published Mar 17, 2025• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present a simple design for a single-element balanced detector (BD) that utilizes optical fibers in the sensing and reference channels with path length differences set to detect the differential signal at a desired frequency. With this approach, we easily achieve a common-mode rejection ratio of 65 dB, corresponding to the shot-noise limit of our setup. The CMRR demonstration is made in the MHz frequency range but could be extended to the kHz or GHz range. Using a single detector, the BD achieves stable CMRR over extended periods and does not require careful matching of detectors and amplification electronics. We demonstrate the single-element balanced detector design using the optical Kerr effect induced by a 30 MHz pulsed laser, showing a significant improvement over similar experiments using a commercial balanced detector.

DOI
10.1364/ol.553817

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Advances in Engineering Technology Research•May 13, 2022•0 citations
We present a simple design for a single-element balanced detector (BD) that utilizes optical fibers in the sensing and reference channels with path length differences set to detect the differential signal at a desired frequency. With this approach, we easily achieve a common-mode rejection ratio of 65 dB, corresponding to the shot-noise limit of our setup. The CMRR demonstration is made in the MHz frequency range but could be extended to the kHz or GHz range. Using a single detector, the BD achieves stable CMRR over extended periods and does not require careful matching of detectors and amplification electronics. We demonstrate the single-element balanced detector design using the optical Kerr effect induced by a 30 MHz pulsed laser, showing a significant improvement over similar experiments using a commercial balanced detector.
The research of quantum noise in the interaction of laser and atoms plays a critical role in quantum optical experiments. The measurement of quantum noise is mainly based on the balanced homodyne detection method. Here, we reported a balanced homodyne detector with low noise, high gain, and high common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR) at the wavelength of 795 nm. By optimizing the selection of components and printed circuit board (PCB) layout, a minimum electronic noise of −96.7 dBm is obtained. Over the range of 1 MHz to 5 MHz, we get a flat CMRR above 59 dB and a linear gain regime, which can enable a shot noise measurement with the laser power of100 μw100~\mu \text{w}100 μw. The developed detector can be used in quantum coherent experiments with a weak probe laser of power down to tens of microwatts.
Squeezing-based quantum metrology has been extensively applied in the field of precision measurement. Performance characteristics of squeezed light are obtained by a balanced homodyne detector. Here, we report a large dynamic range balanced homodyne detector with low-noise and high-signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) for broadband squeezed light measurement. We perform a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the SNR in a wide bandwidth and experimentally analyze the important printed circuit board (PCB) layout and electronic components. Consequently, in the 100 MHz frequency band, the SNR and common mode rejection ratio (CMRR) rise over 12.6 dB and 55 dB, respectively, and the electronic noise is suppressed below -90 dB. The directly observed squeezing level at 1550 nm with the specified detector is 11.8 dB at 2 MHz and 3.1 dB at 100 MHz.
We design and experimentally characterize a balanced homodyne detector optimized for high-repetition-rate (100 MHz) pulsed optical sources. Unlike conventional transimpedance-amplifier architectures, which suffer from nonlinearities and dynamic instabilities with ultrashort pulses, our approach allows to directly amplify the photocurrent extracted at the common photodiode node without feedback loops. A theoretical model describing the detector response, noise, and pulse-to-pulse correlations is developed, providing quantitative predictions for the signal variance, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and inter-pulse correlations. Implemented with two matched InGaAs photodiodes illuminated by a 1030 nm mode-locked laser at 100 MHz, the detector exhibits excellent linearity and shot-noise-limited scaling of the signal variance with optical power. Optimizing the temporal integration window yields a maximum SNR of about 14 dB, while correlation measurements confirm negligible inter-pulse correlations. These results demonstrate that the proposed architecture offers a robust and simple solution for high-speed pulsed homodyne detection, suitable for quantum optics and continuous-variable quantum information applications.
A low noise differential detector has been constructed in order to reduce the laser shot noise. A factor of 30dB of the reduction of the rejection noise has been obtained by simulating the amplitude modulation of two laser probes with a home-made electro-optical modulator (EOM). Cold atom devices have a detection zone which may be non-separated from the trapping/cooling zone. The aim of this short letter is to demonstrate the power of a homodyne balanced mode differential detection in a cold atom device experiment and to extrapolate it in a modulation transfer spectroscopy technique. A differential detector has been built with two identical Silicone photodiodes mounted as shown in figure 1 [1]. The photocurrent derived from both photodiodes is controled by the interfet transistor and amplified with a one stage low noise amplifier. Figure1: A balanced mode differential detector We can envisage to work with a home made electro-optical modulator (EOM) constituted by a conductor wire rolled around a cylindrical ceramic which plays the role of a capacitor fixed between two metallic pieces. We choose a resonance frequency (~ MHz) by adjusting the mechanical pressure (for example with many screws) applied on the upper mechanical piece. The microwave energy is introduced inside the box via a SMA connector [2]. See figure 2. Figure 2: A Home Made Electro-Optical Modulator. Otherwise, a very good quality resonant EOM can be available in the market. The wide band EOM are in fact less performant. A Home-made Balanced Mode Differential Detector DOI: 10.9790/4861-0804047779 www.iosrjournals.org 78 | Page Figure 3: Amplitude modulation of two probe lasers. The use of the EOM is simple. It is intended to undergo an amplitude modulation of two probe lasers. A probe laser is modulated in amplitude via the EOM (to few MHz) and is divided into two probes in order to undergo a differential detection. Figure 4: Reduced signal of a factor of 30 dB. A Home-made Balanced Mode Differential Detector DOI: 10.9790/4861-0804047779 www.iosrjournals.org 79 | Page This will reduce the detection noise, essentially the photons' noise taken back to the intrinsic noise of each photodiode [3, 1] (see figure 4). We note that the reduction factor of the photons' noise can be affected by the thermal drift of the modulator. This work has been undergone at the Sloane Physics Laboratory at Yale university in 1999 and has never been published. References [1] P. C. Hobbs, Reaching the shot noise limit, Optics & Photonics News, 17-23, Avril 1991. [2] S. Ghezali, Private communication, 2000. [3] J. M. McGuirk, G. T. Foster, J. B. Fixler and M. A. Kasevich, Opt. Lett., Vol. 26, Issue 6, Mars 2001.
A well-balanced detector with high sensitivity and low noise is presented in this paper. The two-stage amplification structure is used to increase electronic gain while keeping an effective bandwidth of about 70 MHz. In order to further reduce electronic noise, a junction field-effect transistor(JFET) is connected between photodiodes and transimpedance amplifier to reduce the impact of amplifier leakage current. Benefit from these designs, the root-mean-square(RMS) of noise voltage is about 6 mV with a gain of 3.2E5 V/W, and it means an ultra-low noise equivalent power density of 2.2E-12 W/rtHz, only half of common low-noise commercial detectors. In addition, two photodiodes in similar frequency response are selected for detector and make the common mode rejection ratio(CMRR) of detector reached 53 dB, about 13 dB higher than commercial detectors. Further tests indicate that 16.8 dB shot-noise to electronic-noise ratio is measured in our detector, which is better than most high speed balanced detectors.