Two-Photon Airy Disk

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a quantum Airy disk diffraction pattern using entangled photons, achieving super-resolution beyond classical limits and controllable spot size, with potential applications in quantum lithography.

Contribution

First experimental observation of a quantum Airy disk with super-resolution using entangled photons in a Fraunhofer diffraction setup.

Findings

Quantum Airy disk surpasses classical diffraction limit

Spot size controllable by focal length

Potential for enhanced quantum lithography applications

Abstract

We report an experimental observation of quantum Airy disk diffraction pattern using an entangled two-photon source. In contrast to the previous quantum lithography experiments where the subwavelength diffraction patterns were observed in the far field limit, we perform the Fraunhofer diffraction experiment with a convex lens. The experimental result shows that the two-photon Airy disk is provided with the super-resolution spot, which surpasses the classical diffraction limit. In particular, the spot size can be well controlled by the focal length, which adapted to optical super-focusing. Our experiment can promote potential application of quantum lithography.