Origin of Quantum Noise
Quantum noise may appear in any system where conventional sources of noise (industrial noise, vibrations, fluctuations of voltage in the electric power supply, thermal noise due to Brownian motion, etc.) are somehow suppressed. Generally, quantum noise can be considered as error of description of any physical system within classical (not quantum) theory. In an electric circuit, the random fluctuations of a signal due to discrete character of electrons can be called quantum noise. The random error of interferometric measurement of position due to discrete character of photons registered can be attributed to quantum noise. Even the uncertainty of position of a probe in probe microscopy may lead to quantum noise although this is not the dominant mechanism that determines the resolution of such a device. In most cases, quantum noise refers to the fluctuations of signal in extremely accurate optical systems with stabilized lasers and efficient detectors.
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