Experimental Quantum State Tomography of Optical Fields and Ultrafast Statistical Sampling

TL;DR

This paper reviews experimental methods for quantum state tomography of optical fields, emphasizing homodyne detection, and discusses recent advances and applications in ultrafast photon statistics sampling.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of optical quantum state measurement techniques, highlighting recent developments and their applications in ultrafast sampling.

Findings

Successful implementation of homodyne tomography for various optical states

Advances in multimode and array detection techniques

Application of quantum state measurement to ultrafast photon sampling

Abstract

We review experimental work on the measurement of the quantum state of optical fields, and the relevant theoretical background. The basic technique of optical homodyne tomography is described with particular attention paid to the role played by balanced homodyne detection in this process. We discuss some of the original single-mode squeezed-state measurements as well as recent developments including: other field states, multimode measurements, array detection, and other new homodyne schemes. We also discuss applications of state measurement techniques to an area of scientific and technological importance--the ultrafast sampling of time-resolved photon statistics.