Quantum technology of non-classical light

We report on our progress with the experiments on synthesis and characterization of highly non-classical states of the light field. Based on our previous work on quantum tomography of the single-photon state we demonstrate how with only minor modifications of the experimental setup, an extensive set of new, previously uninvestigated quantum states of light can be produced and characterized. This includes displaced Fock states, photon-added states, Schroedinger cat states and many others. These experiments have an ultimate goal of developing a technology of generating arbitrary single-mode quantum-optical states. Among our further goals is applying the prepared single-mode states to implement quantum teleportation and an elementary quantum gate along the lines of a recent linear-optical quantum computation proposal.