  A pulsed balanced homodyne detector has been developed for precise
measurements of electric field quadratures of pulsed optical quantum states. A
high level of common mode suppression (> 85 dB) and low electronic noise (730
electrons per pulse) provide a signal to noise ratio of 14 dB for the
measurement of the quantum noise of individual pulses. Measurements at
repetition rates up to 1 MHz are possible. As a test, quantum tomography of the
coherent state is performed and the Wigner function and the density matrix are
reconstructed with a 99.5% fidelity. The detection system can also be used for
ultrasensitive balanced detection in cw mode, e.g. for weak absorption
measurements.
