The statistics of the difference events in a balanced homodyne-detection scheme is studied without using the standard assumption of a strong, classical local oscillator. Starting from the quantum theory of photon counting, we derive the probability distribution for the difference events in the two detection channels. In the limit of the local oscillator being strong compared with the signal, the difference-number statistics tends to the statistics of the electric-field strength of the signal field. For weak signals, this limit may be obtained already far from a classical behavior of the local oscillator. While changing the local oscillator intensity, a transition of the observable concerning the signal field occurs from the photon-number difference towards the electric-field strength. Such a measurement scheme renders it possible to observe the quantum features of a coherent state or a single-photon state from the point of view of the field-strength statistics, a picture which is closely related to classical optics. The possibility to get some insight in the statistical properties of the phase difference of two microscopic fields is discussed.

• Received 14 December 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.47.4227