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Optics and Spectroscopy

Quantum lithography: Toward entangled-photon optics

Luis Lorenzo Sánchez-Soto, Gunnar G. Bjork, Jonas Söderholm

Published May 1, 2003• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

The advantages of using nonclassical states of light for optical imaging are discussed, with special emphasis on the new field of quantum optical lithography. The classical resolution limit given by the Rayleigh criterion is approximately half of the optical wavelength. However, it has been argued that, by using special quantum states of light and a multiphoton-sensitive material or detector, this limit can be broken. Here, a brief and rigorous overview of this problem is provided, some particularly widespread misconceptions are addressed, and turning quantum lithography into a practical technology is discussed.

DOI
10.1134/1.1576833

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The advantages of using nonclassical states of light for optical imaging are discussed, with special emphasis on the new field of quantum optical lithography. The classical resolution limit given by the Rayleigh criterion is approximately half of the optical wavelength. However, it has been argued that, by using special quantum states of light and a multiphoton-sensitive material or detector, this limit can be broken. Here, a brief and rigorous overview of this problem is provided, some particularly widespread misconceptions are addressed, and turning quantum lithography into a practical technology is discussed.
This paper discusses the advantages of using non-classical states of light for two aspects of optical imaging: the creation of microscopic images on photosensitive substrates, which constitutes the foundation for optical lithography, and the imaging of microscopic objects. In both cases, the classical resolution limit given by the Rayleigh criterion is approximately half of the optical wavelength. It has been shown, however, that by using multi-photon quantum states of the light field, and a multi-photon sensitive material or detector, this limit can be surpassed. A rigorous quantum mechanical treatment of this problem is given, some particularly widespread misconceptions are addressed, and turning quantum imaging into a practical technology is discussed.
I propose a quantum imaging method that can beat the Rayleigh-Abbe diffraction limit and achieve de Broglie resolution without requiring a multiphoton absorber or coincidence detection. Using the same nonclassical states of light as those for quantum lithography, the proposed method requires only optical intensity measurements, followed by image postprocessing, to produce the same complex quantum interference patterns as those in quantum lithography. The method is expected to be experimentally realizable using current technology.
Summary form only given. Recently, Boto et al. (see Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 85, p. 2773, 2000) showed that using N entangled photons and an N-photon responsive lithographic recording medium, one could potentially write lithographic gratings with a resolution that is N times better than the classical Rayleigh criterion. An anticipated experimental difficulty is that such beams are weak, yet strong fields are needed to excite the N-photon absorption process. For the case of N=2, which was described in detail by Boto et al., we propose a method to overcome this problem. We also propose to use this idea "in reverse" to perform microscopy with better resolution than aloowed by the Rayleigh limit.
We have learnt in Chapter 5 how to reduce fluctuations of an electromagnetic (EM) field below the quantum (Heisenberg) limit imposed by the quantum nature of light. It has been shown that the quantum limit can be beaten using non-classical squeezed light of reduced fluctuations. Another issue of significant interest in quantum optics is to beat the diffraction limit imposed on the resolution of measured objects by the wave nature of light. In this chapter, we will illustrate how one can beat the diffraction limit by using the quantumnature of entangled light beams.We shall see that entangled light can lead us to a new domain of quantum optics in which detectors can resolve two closely spaced objects or spectral lines with the minimal resolvable limit significantly reduced or even completely suppressed. This subject is generally known as quantum optical lithography and could be described in short as the ability to print patterns onto certain materials using non-classical light. The developments in this area are of fundamental interest, and they hold promise for advances in optical interferometry and in applications such as quantummetrology and gravitational wave studies.