Quantum noise

In physics, quantum noise refers to the uncertainty of a physical quantity that is due to its quantum origin. In certain situations, quantum noise appears as shot noise; for example, most optical communications use amplitude modulation, and thus, the quantum noise appears as shot noise only. For the case of uncertainty in the electric field in some lasers, the quantum noise is not just shot noise; uncertainties of both amplitude and phase contribute to the quantum noise. This issue becomes important in the case of noise of a quantum amplifier, which preserves the phase. The phase noise becomes important when the energy of the frequency modulation or phase modulation of waves is comparable to the energy of the signal (which is believed to be more robust with respect to additive noise than an amplitude modulation).