Quantum Enhanced Precision Estimation of Transmission with Bright Squeezed Light

Abstract

Squeezed light enables measurements with sensitivity beyond the quantum noise limit (QNL) for optical techniques such as spectroscopy, gravitational wave detection, magnetometry, and imaging. Precision of a measurement—as quantified by the variance of repeated estimates—has also been enhanced beyond the QNL using squeezed light. However, sub-QNL sensitivity is not sufficient to achieve sub-QNL precision. Furthermore, demonstrations of sub-QNL precision in estimating transmission have been limited to picowatts of probe power. Here we demonstrate simultaneous enhancement of precision and sensitivity to beyond the QNL for estimating modulated transmission with a squeezed amplitude probe of mW average ( W peak) power, which is 8 orders of magnitude above the power limitations of previous sub-QNL precision measurements of transmission. Our approach enables measurements that compete with the optical powers of current classical techniques, but have both improved precision and sensitivity beyond the classical limit.