Realisation of the first sub shot noise wide field microscope

TL;DR

This paper reports the development of the first wide field microscope that surpasses shot noise limits using quantum correlations, enabling real-time, high-resolution imaging with enhanced sensitivity for complex structures.

Contribution

It presents the first realization of a sub-shot noise wide field microscope utilizing quantum photon correlations, advancing quantum imaging towards practical applications.

Findings

Real-time imaging of 8000 pixels over a 500μm² field.

Noise reduced to 80% of shot noise level per pixel.

Further noise reduction below 30% of shot noise with post-processing.

Abstract

In the last years several proof of principle experiments have demonstrated the advantages of quantum technologies respect to classical schemes. The present challenge is to overpass the limits of proof of principle demonstrations to approach real applications. This letter presents such an achievement in the field of quantum enhanced imaging. In particular, we describe the realization of a sub-shot noise wide field microscope based on spatially multi-mode non-classical photon number correlations in twin beams. The microscope produces real time images of 8000 pixels at full resolution, for (500micrometers)2 field-of-view, with noise reduced to the 80% of the shot noise level (for each pixel), suitable for absorption imaging of complex structures. By fast post-elaboration, specifically applying a quantum enhanced median filter, the noise can be further reduced (less than 30% of the shot noise level) by setting a trade-off with the resolution, demonstrating the best sensitivity per incident photon ever achieved in absorption microscopy.