Absence of phase-dependent noise in time-domain reflectivity studies of impulsively excited phonons

There have been several reports of phase-dependent noise in time-domain reflectivity studies of optical phonons excited by femtosecond laser pulses in semiconductors, semimetals, and superconductors. It was suggested that such behavior is associated with the creation of squeezed phonon states although there is no theoretical model that directly supports such a proposal. We have experimentally re-examined the studies of phonons in bismuth and gallium arsenide, and find no evidence of any phase-dependent noise signature associated with the phonons. We place an upper limit on any such noise at least 40–50 dB lower than previously reported.