QUANTUM MEASUREMENT OF THE PHOTON NUMBER VIA THE JUNCTION VOLTAGE IN A SEMICONDUCTOR-LASER

The quantum correlation between photon number and junction-voltage fluctuations in a constant-current-driven semiconductor laser is theoretically predicted and experimentally demonstrated. An external electrical circuit has the two functions of pumping to compensate for cavity loss and measuring the photon number. The photon-number noise can be reduced to below the standard quantum limit and even to near that of a number state by referring to the junction-voltage measurements. Phase diffusion incorporates the inherent back action noise of such a measurement process. The number-phase uncertainty principle is conserved between the measurement-induced sub-Poissonian photon-number noise and the Schawlow-Townes phase-diffusion noise.