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Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics

Quantum optical coherence tomography and applications to biological imaging

Mark C. Booth, Giovanni Di Giuseppe, Bahaa E. A. Saleh, Alexander V. Sergienko, Malvin Carl Teich

Published Jun 6, 2003• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We propose a method of quantum optical coherence tomography (QOCT) that utilizes a nonclassical source of entangled photons (signal and idler). By using type-II spontaneous parametric downconversion, where signal and idler photons emerge with orthogonal polarizations, it is possible to probe the biological sample using a polarization-entangled state.

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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Sep 1, 2011•0 citations
We propose a method of quantum optical coherence tomography (QOCT) that utilizes a nonclassical source of entangled photons (signal and idler). By using type-II spontaneous parametric downconversion, where signal and idler photons emerge with orthogonal polarizations, it is possible to probe the biological sample using a polarization-entangled state.
Polarization-sensitive quantum optical coherence tomography (PS-QOCT) is used to image and characterize birefringence effects in biological samples. Entangled photons are generated via spontaneous parametric down-conversion and split into a reference arm and a sample arm of a Mach Zehnder interferometer. Interferometric patterns between two entangled photons reveal information about tissue birefringence. Biological tissue samples are imaged and characterized, and their quantum interference patterns and birefringence profiles are presented.
A number of nonclassical (quantum) sources of light have come to the fore in recent years [1], but few practical applications have emerged. One such application is quantum optical coherence tomography (QOCT) [2, 3], a fourth-order interferometric optical-sectioning scheme that makes use of frequency-entangled photon pairs generated via spontaneous optical parametric down-conversion (SPDC). A particular merit of QOCT is that it is inherently immune to group-velocity dispersion (GVD) by virtue of the frequency entanglement of the photon pairs [4]-[6]. Conventional optical coherence tomography (OCT) [7], in contrast, is a second-order interferometric scheme that provides high-resolution axial sectioning by employing ultra-broadband light. Unfortunately, however, this leads to GVD, which degrades resolution. Here we present the first experimental QOCT images of a biological sample: an onion-skin tissue coated with gold nanoparticles. Three-dimensional images are displayed in the form of transverse sections at different depths. The results reveal that QOCT is a viable biological imaging technique.
Quantum-optical coherence tomography (QOCT) is an optical sectioning modality based on the quantum interference of entangled photon pairs in the well-known Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer. Despite its promise, the technique is far from being competitive with current classical OCT devices due to the long required acquisition times, derived from the low photon-pair emission rates. In this work, we, on the one hand, demonstrate a quantum optical coherence microscopy technique, based on full-field QOCT, which employs entangled collinear photon pairs in a Linnik interferometer designed to overcome some of the limitations of previous QOCT implementations, and, on the other hand, test it on representative samples, including glass layers with manufactured transverse patterns and metal-coated biological specimens. In our setup, while the idler photon is collected with a multimode fiber, the signal photon is detected by an intensified charge-coupled device camera, leading to full-field transverse reconstruction through a single-axial acquisition sequence. Interestingly, our setup permits concurrent OCT and QOCT trace acquisition, the former with greater counts and the latter with the benefit of quantum-conferred advantages. We hope that our current results will represent a significant step forward towards the actual applicability of QOCT, e.g., in clinical settings.
Polarization sensitive quantum optical coherence tomography (PS-QOCT) is used to characterize birefringence, scattering/absorption and path length differences in a flat transparent plastic sample. In this Letter, we present the first, to the best of our knowledge, experimental technique of PS-QOCT imaging and characterization of a birefringent material. Polarization sensitive coincidence rate of the entangled photons measured for each pixel and the 2D cross-sectional images are reconstructed. The technique described in this work has many potential applications in the characterization of micro and nano structures, including biological samples.
Quantum optical coherence tomography (QOCT) offers a simple way to cancel dispersion broadening in a sample while also providing twice the resolution compared to classical OCT. However, to achieve these advantages, a bright and broadband source of entangled photon pairs is required. A simple implementation uses collinear spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a Michelson interferometer (MI), yet this autocorrelation scheme suffers from parasitic terms and sensitivity to phase noise. Here, we introduce a cross-correlation MI-based QOCT that overcomes these drawbacks, significantly advancing QOCT toward practical applications.
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) based on Michelson interferometer has widely been utilized in biology and medicine as a type of optical biopsy and quantum optical coherence tomography (QOCT) based on Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer has recently been demonstrated. By use of quantum entangled photon pairs generated via spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) process, axial resolution of QOCT can be better than that of OCT in principle for a source of same bandwidth and group velocity dispersion (GVD) effect for QOCT can be automatically cancelled thanks to the frequency correlation of entangled photon pairs. To realize high-resolution QOCT, we need a broadband quantum entangled photon pair source. Then we proposed a novel conventional method to generate broadband spontaneous parametric fluorescence via SPDC by using multiple nonlinear crystals pumped by a CW laser. Our method has controllability to tune the center frequency of generated photons and scalability to extend the number of crystals. This conventional method can enable us to achieve sub-micron axial resolution of QOCT.