A laser is directed onto a 50-50% beamsplitter, splitting the laserbeam into two beams. One is used as local oscillator (LO) and the other is used to generate photons with a particular quantum state. The generation of quantum states can be realized, e.g. by directing the laser beam through a frequency doubling crystal and then onto a parametric down-conversion crystal. This crystal generates two photons in a certain quantum state. One of the photons is used as a trigger signal used to trigger (start) the readout event of the homodyne tomography detector. The other photon is directed into the homodyne tomography detector, in order to reconstruct its quantum state. Since the trigger and signal photons are entangled (this is explained by the Spontaneous parametric down-conversion article), it is important to realize, that the optical mode of the signal state is created nonlocal only when the trigger photon impinges the photodetector (of the trigger event readout module) and is actually measured. More simply said, it is only when the trigger photon is measured, that the signal photon can be measured by the homodyne detector.