Quantum reading: the experimental set-up

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates experimentally that quantum reading using two-mode squeezed vacuum states and photon counting can outperform classical methods in retrieving information from optical memory, highlighting a practical quantum advantage.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental realization of quantum reading with photon counting, confirming theoretical predictions of quantum advantage in optical memory retrieval.

Findings

Quantum advantage confirmed experimentally

Photon counting receiver effective with TMSV states

Practical implementation of quantum reading demonstrated

Abstract

The protocol of quantum reading refers to the quantum enhanced retrieval of information from an optical memory, whose generic cell stores a bit of information in two possible lossy channels. In the following we analyze the case of a particular class of optical receiver, based on photon counting measurement, since they can be particularly simple in view of real applications. We show that a quantum advantage is achievable when a transmitter based on two-mode squeezed vacuum (TMSV) states is combined with a photon counting receiver, and we experimentally confirm it. In this paper, after introducing some theoretical background, we focus on the experimental realisation, describing the data collection and the data analysis in detail.