Absolute sensitivity of phase measurement in an SU(1,1) type interferometer

Abstract

Absolute sensitivity is measured for the phase measurement in an SU(1,1) type interferometer, and the results are compared to that of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer operated under the condition of the same intra-interferometer intensity. The interferometer is phase locked to a point with the largest quantum noise cancellation, and a simulated phase modulation is added in one arm of the SU(1,1) interferometer. Both the signal and noise level are estimated at the same frequency range, and we obtained 3 dB improvement in sensitivity for the SU(1,1) interferometer over the Mach–Zehnder interferometer. Our results demonstrate a direct phase estimation and may pave the way for practical applications of a nonlinear interferometer.