Two-particle sub-wavelength Quantum Correlation Microscopy

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a quantum correlation microscopy technique that uses photon correlation measurements to resolve the positions and brightness of two emitters with only three measurement points, surpassing classical intensity-based limits.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method combining photon correlation and photon count data to achieve sub-wavelength resolution of two emitters in two dimensions.

Findings

Resolved two emitters' positions and brightness with only three measurements.

Demonstrated that correlation measurements provide information beyond classical intensity.

Achieved super-resolution imaging surpassing classical limits.

Abstract

Typically, optical microscopy uses the wavelike properties of light to image a scene. However, photon arrival times provide more information about emitter properties than the classical intensity alone. Here, we show that the Hanbury Brown and Twiss experiment (second-order correlation function) measures the intensity asymmetry of two single photon emitters, and that by combining the total number of detected photons with the zero-lag value of the correlation function, the positions and relative brightness of two emitters in two dimensions can be resolved from only three measurement positions -- trilateration, a result that is impossible to achieve on the basis of intensity measurements alone.