Super-resolution quantum imaging at the Heisenberg limit

Abstract

Quantum imaging exploits the spatial correlations between photons to image object features with a higher resolution than a corresponding classical light source could achieve. Using a quantum correlated N -photon state, the method of optical centroid measurement (OCM) was shown to exhibit a resolution enhancement by improving the classical Rayleigh limit by a factor of 1/N . In this work, the theory of OCM is formulated within the framework of an imaging formalism and is implemented in an exemplary experiment by means of a conventional entangled photon pair source. The expected resolution enhancement of a factor of two is demonstrated. The here presented experiment allows for single-shot operation without scanning or iteration to reproduce the object in the image plane. Thereby, photon detection is performed with a newly developed integrated timeresolving detector array. Multi-photon interference effects responsible for the observed resolution enhancement are discussed and possible alternative implementation possibilities for higher photon number are proposed.

Hyperspectral terahertz microscopy via nonlinear ghost imaging

“…Single-pixel imaging approaches find their origin in domains where single-point detectors outperform detector-arrays in terms of specifications or availability [21,22], for this reason, they have attracted interest also in the THz community [23][24][25]. In photonics, these methods have unlocked the powerful ability to add multiple dimensions and novel functionalities to simple spatial probing, enabling several breakthroughs in classical and quantum imaging [26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. In its most modern connotation, the Ghost-Imaging (GI) is a form of computational imaging that employs the sequential illumination of an object with a set of pre-determined patterns [22,[33][34][35][36][37].…”

Quantum Limits to Incoherent Imaging are Achieved by Linear Interferometry

“…Advances in quantum imaging have followed several routes. Typically, the goal is to addresses the possibility of beating the limits of classical imaging [2, 3] by exploiting the unique properties of optical quantum states [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. For example, ghost imaging [6,8,11], quantum lithography [12,13], and quantum sensing [14][15][16] exploit entanglement to enable sensitivity and precision beyond what is achievable classically, whilst fluorescence super-resolution microscopy [17][18][19][20] utilizes carefully engineered emitters and measurements to break the diffraction limit.…”

Quantum correlation measurement with single photon avalanche diode arrays

“…The demonstration of super-resolution imaging based on the concept of Q-ISM shown in this work is an example of one of several concepts that have recently emerged in the field of quantum imaging. These include the enhancement of super-resolution microscopy based on localization microscopy [27], structured illumination [16] and optical centroid measurement [52,55], as well as surpassing the classical limits for phase [26,42] and absorption sensitivity [8]. To our knowledge this is the first demonstration of a quantum microscopy modality applying an on-chip detector array.…”

“…Quantum imaging is an emerging field in optical microscopy attempting to overcome the classical limitations of imaging in terms of precision and spatial resolution [8,26,42,46,53,55]. While quantum imaging methods differ in the illumination, imaging optics and data analysis procedures, they all rely on characterization of a quantum state of light at the imaging port [16,27,42,52].…”