0.54 {\mu}m resolution two-photon interference with dispersion cancellation for quantum optical coherence tomography
Abstract
Quantum information technologies harness the intrinsic nature of quantum theory to beat the limitations of the classical methods for information processing and communication. Recently, the application of quantum features to metrology has attracted much attention. Quantum optical coherence tomography (QOCT), which utilizes two-photon interference between entangled photon pairs, is a promising approach to overcome the problem with optical coherence tomography (OCT): As the resolution of OCT becomes higher, degradation of the resolution due to dispersion within the medium becomes more critical. Here we report on the realization of 0.54 m resolution two-photon interference, which surpasses the current record resolution 0.75 m of low-coherence interference for OCT. In addition, the resolution for QOCT showed almost no change against the dispersion of a 1 mm thickness of water inserted in the optical path, whereas the resolution for OCT dramatically degrades. For this experiment, a highly-efficient chirped quasi-phase-matched lithium tantalate device was developed using a novel nano-electrode-poling technique. The results presented here represent a breakthrough for the realization of quantum protocols, including QOCT, quantum clock synchronization, and more. Our work will open up possibilities for medical and biological applications.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1601.01734,
title = {0.54 {\mu}m resolution two-photon interference with dispersion cancellation for quantum optical coherence tomography},
author = {Masayuki Okano and Hwan Hong Lim and Ryo Okamoto and Norihiko Nishizawa and Sunao Kurimura and Shigeki Takeuchi},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1601.01734},
year = {2016}
}
Comments
10 pages, 4 figures