Harmonic demodulation of nonstationary shot noise

We report on experimental demodulation of nonstationary shot noise, which is associated with strongly modulated light. For sinusoidal modulation and demodulation, measurements confirm theoretical predictions of 1.8-dB excess noise in the modulation quadrature and 3-dB noise reduction in the opposite quadrature, relative to the standard quantum limit. Demodulation with a third harmonic produces noise correlated with that which is due to the fundamental. Reducing excess noise by 0.8 dB in the modulation quadrature, by combining the fundamental and third harmonics in a 2:1 ratio, is shown to be feasible.