Sub-{\mu}m axial precision depth imaging with entangled two-colour Hong-Ou-Mandel microscopy

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates sub-micrometer axial precision depth imaging using two-colour entangled photon interferometry, which is robust to wavelength perturbations and allows active control of precision and range.

Contribution

It introduces a novel two-colour entangled photon interferometry technique for high-precision depth imaging with adjustable parameters.

Findings

Achieved sub-micrometer axial precision with 12.3 nm wavelength detuning.

Demonstrated robustness to wavelength perturbations in interferometry.

Utilized approximately 10,000 detected photon pairs for imaging.

Abstract

The quantum interference of two wavelength-entangled photons overlapping at a beamsplitter results in an oscillating interference pattern. The frequency of the beat note is dependent on the wavelength separation of the entangled photons but is robust to wavelength scale perturbations that can limit the practicality of standard interferometry. Here we use two-colour entanglement interferometry to evaluate the variation in thickness of a semi-transparent sample in combination with two-dimensional raster scanning. The axial precision and the dynamic range of the microscope are actively controlled by adjusting the wavelength separation of the entangled photon pairs. Sub-$\mu m$ precision is reported using up to $12.3~nm$ of detuning and $\sim10^4$ detected photon pairs.