Multimode stimulated Raman scattering with squeezed light

Kee Choon Yeong

V. A. Zubov, M. M. Sushchinskiǐ, I. K. Shuvalov

G V Venkin, Iu. A. Il'Inskii, A. S. Mkoyan

Rayssa Bruzaca de Andrade, Kirstine Berg‐Sørensen, Tobias Gehring +1 more

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopes are a standard technique to image cells, tissues or track the uptake of drugs [1] . The sensitivity in these devices is directly linked to the laser power. While an increase of sensitivity is desired, increasing the laser power is challenging and squeezed light offers a solution to this challenge. Recently squeezed light has been used to enhance the sensitivity of continuous-wave and pulsed SRS [2] , [3] setups and stimulated emission spectroscopy [4] .

Alex Terrasson, Nicolas P. Mauranyapin, Catxere A. Casacio +5 more

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy is a powerful label-free imaging technique that probes the vibrational response of chemicals with high specificity and sensitivity. High-power, quantum-enhanced SRS microscopes have been recently demonstrated and applied to polymers and biological samples. Quantum correlations, in the form of squeezed light, enable the microscopes to operate below the shot noise limit, enhancing their performance without increasing the illumination intensity. This addresses the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and speed constraints introduced by photodamage in shot noise-limited microscopes. Previous microscopes have either used single-beam squeezing, but with insufficient brightness to reach the optimal ratio of pump-to-Stokes intensity for maximum SNR, or have used twin-beam squeezing and suffered a 3 dB noise penalty. Here we report a quantum-enhanced Raman microscope that uses a bright squeezed single-beam, enabling operation at the optimal efficiency of the SRS process. The increase in brightness leads to multimode effects that degrade the squeezing level, which we partially overcome using spatial filtering. We apply our quantum-enhanced SRS microscope to biological samples and demonstrate quantum-enhanced multispectral imaging of living cells. The imaging speed of 100×100 pixels in 18 seconds allows the dynamics of cell organelles to be resolved. The SNR achieved is compatible with video-rate imaging, with the quantum correlations yielding a 20% improvement in imaging speed compared to shot noise-limited operation.

Rayssa Bruzaca de Andrade, Tobias Gehring, Ulrik L. Andersen