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arXiv:0909.0796 · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE

Chirped-pulse interferometry with finite frequency correlations

Kevin J. Resch, Rainer Kaltenbaek, Jonathan Lavoie, Devon N. Biggerstaff

Published Jul 21, 2009• 11 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Chirped-pulse interferometry is a new interferometric technique encapsulating the advantages of the quantum Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer without the drawbacks of using entangled photons. Both interferometers can exhibit even-order dispersion cancellation which allows high resolution optical delay measurements even in thick optical samples. In the present work, we show that finite frequency correlations in chirped-pulse interferometry and Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometry limit the degree of dispersion cancellation. Our results are important considerations in designing practical devices based on these technologies.

DOI
10.1117/12.825089

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Chirped-pulse interferometry is a new interferometric technique encapsulating the advantages of the quantum Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer without the drawbacks of using entangled photons. Both interferometers can exhibit even-order dispersion cancellation which allows high resolution optical delay measurements even in thick optical samples. In the present work, we show that finite frequency correlations in chirped-pulse interferometry and Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometry limit the degree of dispersion cancellation. Our results are important considerations in designing practical devices based on these technologies.
Interference has long been used for precision measurement of path-length changes. Since the advent of the laser, interference has become one of the most versatile tools in metrology. Specifically, ultra-short laser pulses allow unprecedented resolution in absolute length measurements. While ultra-short laser pulses lead to high resolution, for example in white-light interferometry, they are very susceptible to dispersion. \n \nQuantum resources have been proposed to overcome some of the problems related to distortions in the interferometric signal. For example, the Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interferometer relies on frequency-entangled photon pairs and features automatic even-order dispersion cancellation and high interference visibility resilient to unbalanced loss. Quantum-OCT is a technique based on HOM interferometry, that promises to overcome Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) a classical imaging technique based on low coherence light. Furthermore, straightforward modifications of the HOM interferometer can display several different interferometric signals, including the HOM peak, quantum beating, and phase super-resolution. However, the quantum resources required are hard to produce and dim, leading to long integration times and single-photon counting. \n \nIn this thesis, we introduce the theory behind Chirped-Pulse Interferometry (CPI), a new technique that combines all the advantages of Q-OCT, including even-order dispersion cancellation, but without the need for any quantum resources. We then experimentally implement CPI and demonstrate all the important characteristics shared by the HOM interferometer, but at dramatically larger signal levels. We show how CPI can be used to measure dispersion cancelled axial profiles of an optical sample and show the improvement in resolution over white-light interferometry. Finally, we show that by modifying CPI in analogous ways to HOM, CPI can also be made to produce interferometric signal identical to the HOM peak, quantum beating, and phase super-resolution.
Chirped-pulse interferometry (CPI) captures the metrological advantages of quantum Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interferometry in a completely classical system. Modified HOM interferometers are the basis for a number of seminal quantum-interference effects. Here, the corresponding modifications to CPI allow for the first observation of classical analogues to the HOM peak and quantum beating. They also allow a new classical technique for generating phase super-resolution exhibiting a coherence length dramatically longer than that of the laser light, analogous to increased two-photon coherence lengths in entangled states.
A new scheme is presented for high precision positioning based on chirped-pulse interferometry(CPI).In this scheme,a pair of oppositely chirped optical pulses with strong classical frequency correlations are combined at a beamsplitter.The output beams with two different paths are recombined and focused onto a nonlinear crystal.High precision positioning with magnitude of micron is obtained theoretically by detecting sum frequency interference signal as a function of relative delay between two different paths.The impact of difference between chirp and anti-chirp pulse on positioning is studied.It is shown that positioning has a high tolerance of difference between chirp and anti-chirp parameter.Our scheme exhibits all the advantages of quantum spatial positioning based on the Hong-Ou-Mandel(HOM) quantum interference,but with more simple experimental setup,robustness against loss and greater signals,which provide more improvements in practical maneuverability.
Here we report on a completely classical technique based on the time-reversal symmetry of quantum mechanics that achieves all the advantages of HOM interferometry by using oppositely-chirped laser pulses. Since our technique relies on classical lasers instead of entangled photons, it achieves these features with millions of times larger signal making it an attractive candidate for dispersion-free OCT. In particular, the visibility and width of the CPI interferogram is insensitive to dispersion and photon loss, and inherently robust against phase-fluctuations. Further, we achieve higher resolution than classical interferometers using the same bandwidth. On a fundamental level, our work emphasizes the importance of delineating truly quantum effects from those with classical analogues, and shows how insights gained from quantum mechanics can inspire novel classical technologies.
We describe our theoretical and experimental results demonstrating two new techniques for manipulating dispersion in quantum interferometry using spectral and spatial properties of optical entanglement. First, we present a novel interferometer design allowing to demonstrate a new effect of simultaneous even- and odd-order spectral dispersion cancellation in a single experiment using entangled photons with frequency anti-correlated spectrum. Second, we for the first time demonstrate a spatial counterpart of the known quantum dispersion cancellation that leads to the removal of a detrimental effect of spatial aberrations. We discuss potential applications of novel technologies in high-resolution optical measurement and for designing aberration-free imaging schemes.
Quantum-optical coherence tomography (Q-OCT) is an interferometric technique for axial imaging offering several advantages over conventional methods. Chirped-pulse interferometry (CPI) was recently demonstrated to exhibit all of the benefits of the quantum interferometer upon which Q-OCT is based. Here we use CPI to measure axial interferograms to profile a sample accruing the important benefits of Q-OCT, including automatic dispersion cancellation, but with 10 million times higher signal. Our technique solves the artifact problem in Q-OCT and highlights the power of classical correlation in optical imaging.