Quantum measurement theory of optical heterodyne detection

Multiphoton Optical Heterodyne Detection

After reviewing recent work on multiphoton direct detection and single-photon heterodyne detection, we examine the behavior of a multiphoton absorption heterodyne receiver. Expressions are obtained for the detector response, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and minimum detectable power for a number of cases of interest. Receiver performance is found to depend on the higher order correlation functio...

Heterodyne measurement of Wigner distributions for classical optical fields.

We demonstrate a two-window heterodyne method for measuring the x-p cross correlation, ??(*)(x)? (p)?, of an optical field ? for transverse position x and transverse momentum p. This scheme permits independent control of the x and p resolution. A simple linear transform of the x-p correlation function yields the Wigner phase-space distribution. This technique is useful for both coherent and low...

Temporal heterodyne detector for multitemporal mode quantum state measurement

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 t...

Absolute phase measurement in heterodyne detection of transient gratings.

We present a method of measuring the absolute phase in heterodyne-detected transient grating experiments. The method permits direct and sensitive characterization of the amplitude and phase of the grating parameters. We also present a convenient implementation of this technique and demonstrate its efficacy in a cuprate superconductor.

Operational Quantum Theory; Measurement Theory