Relationship between resolution enhancement and multiphoton absorption rate in quantum lithography
Mankei Tsang
The proposal of quantum lithography [Boto et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 2733 (2000)] is studied via a rigorous formalism. It is shown that, contrary to Boto et al.'s heuristic claim, the multiphoton absorption rate of a $(\ensuremath{\mid}N,0⟩+\ensuremath{\mid}0,N⟩)$ quantum state is actually lower than that of a classical state with otherwise identical parameters. The proof-of-concept experiment of quantum lithography [D'Angelo et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 013602 (2001)] is also analyzed in terms of the proposed formalism, and the experiment is shown to have a reduced multiphoton absorption rate in order to emulate quantum lithography accurately. Finally, quantum lithography by the use of a jointly Gaussian quantum state of light is investigated to illustrate the trade-off between resolution enhancement and multiphoton absorption rate.
arXiv:quant-ph/0607114•Physical Review A•Apr 20, 2007•38 citations