Frequency-domain optical coherence tomography with undetected mid-infrared photons

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel mid-infrared frequency-domain OCT technique using entangled photons, achieving high-resolution imaging with less noise and complexity, surpassing traditional methods.

Contribution

It demonstrates the first implementation of mid-IR OCT with undetected photons using entangled pairs, enabling high-resolution imaging without mid-IR detectors.

Findings

Achieved 10 μm axial resolution in mid-IR OCT.

Demonstrated 20 μm lateral resolution in 2D and 3D imaging.

Reduced noise and system complexity compared to classical mid-IR OCT.

Abstract

Mid-infrared light scatters much less than shorter wavelengths, allowing greatly enhanced penetration depths for optical imaging techniques such as optical coherence tomography (OCT). However, both detection and broadband sources in the mid-IR are technologically challenging. Interfering entangled photons in a nonlinear interferometer enables sensing with undetected photons making mid-IR sources and detectors obsolete. Here we implement mid-infrared frequency-domain OCT based on ultra-broadband entangled photon pairs. We demonstrate 10 ${\mu}$m axial and 20 ${\mu}$m lateral resolution 2D and 3D imaging of strongly scattering ceramic and paint samples. Together with $10^6$ times less noise scaled for the same amount of probe light and also vastly reduced footprint and technical complexity this technique can outperform conventional approaches with classical mid-IR light.