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SPIE Conference on Nonlinear Optics and its Applications

Temporal optical super-resolution by super-oscillating beats (Conference Presentation)

Alon Bahabad, Yaniv Eliezer, Liran Hareli, Lilya Lobachinsky, Sahar Froim

Published May 23, 2018• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We experimentally broke the temporal Fourier focusing limit of an ultra-short optical pulse and used it to demonstrate temporal super-resolution detection of a temporal event [1]. The envelope function of the pulse is synthesized in the form of a Super-Oscillating Beat (SOB) signal, made of pairs of optical modes (i.e. beat modes) centered around a common carrier frequency. The mathematical form for the synthesis of the SOB signal is based on a known super-oscillatory function [2]. Suited with the right amplitude and phases these beat modes interfere to create a lobe in the temporal waveform of the field’s envelope which can be arbitrarily narrow, at the cost of reduced amplitude at the fast oscillation. In our case, we achieved a temporal feature that is approximately three times shorter than the duration of a transform-limited Gaussian pulse having a comparable bandwidth while maintaining 30% visibility of the super-oscillating feature. We then used this SOB signal to demonstrate experimentally temporal super-resolution. Specifically, the SOB signal was used to resolve the existence of a temporal double-slit, a pair of adjacent pulses which are detected as a single temporal event by a transform-limited Gaussian pulse having the same bandwidth. Formally, this experiment constitutes a temporal analogue to super resolution imaging by using a super oscillating point-spread-function [3,4]. Numerical simulations analyse in which cases the SOB signal outperform transform-limited signals for detection of short temporal events. [1] Y. Eliezer, L. Hareli, L. Lobachinsky, S. Froim and A. Bahabad, “Breaking the Temporal Resolution Limit by Superoscillating Optical Beats”, Physical Review Letters, 119, 043903 (2017). [2] M. V Berry and S. Popescu, "Evolution of Quantum Superoscillations and Optical Supperresolution without Evanescent Waves," J. Phys. A. Math. Gen. 39, 6965 (2006). [3] A. M. H. Wong and G. V Eleftheriades, "An Optical Super-microscope for Far-field, Real-time Imaging Beyond the Diffraction Limit" Sci. Rep. 3, (2013). [4] E. T. F. Rogers, J. Lindberg, T. Roy, S. Savo, J. E. Chad, M. R. Dennis, and N. I. Zheludev, "A Super-oscillatory Lens Optical Microscope for Subwavelength Imaging," Nat. Mater. 11, 432 (2012).

DOI
10.1117/12.2303631

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We experimentally broke the temporal Fourier focusing limit of an ultra-short optical pulse and used it to demonstrate temporal super-resolution detection of a temporal event [1]. The envelope function of the pulse is synthesized in the form of a Super-Oscillating Beat (SOB) signal, made of pairs of optical modes (i.e. beat modes) centered around a common carrier frequency. The mathematical form for the synthesis of the SOB signal is based on a known super-oscillatory function [2]. Suited with the right amplitude and phases these beat modes interfere to create a lobe in the temporal waveform of the field’s envelope which can be arbitrarily narrow, at the cost of reduced amplitude at the fast oscillation. In our case, we achieved a temporal feature that is approximately three times shorter than the duration of a transform-limited Gaussian pulse having a comparable bandwidth while maintaining 30% visibility of the super-oscillating feature. We then used this SOB signal to demonstrate experimentally temporal super-resolution. Specifically, the SOB signal was used to resolve the existence of a temporal double-slit, a pair of adjacent pulses which are detected as a single temporal event by a transform-limited Gaussian pulse having the same bandwidth. Formally, this experiment constitutes a temporal analogue to super resolution imaging by using a super oscillating point-spread-function [3,4]. Numerical simulations analyse in which cases the SOB signal outperform transform-limited signals for detection of short temporal events. [1] Y. Eliezer, L. Hareli, L. Lobachinsky, S. Froim and A. Bahabad, “Breaking the Temporal Resolution Limit by Superoscillating Optical Beats”, Physical Review Letters, 119, 043903 (2017). [2] M. V Berry and S. Popescu, "Evolution of Quantum Superoscillations and Optical Supperresolution without Evanescent Waves," J. Phys. A. Math. Gen. 39, 6965 (2006). [3] A. M. H. Wong and G. V Eleftheriades, "An Optical Super-microscope for Far-field, Real-time Imaging Beyond the Diffraction Limit" Sci. Rep. 3, (2013). [4] E. T. F. Rogers, J. Lindberg, T. Roy, S. Savo, J. E. Chad, M. R. Dennis, and N. I. Zheludev, "A Super-oscillatory Lens Optical Microscope for Subwavelength Imaging," Nat. Mater. 11, 432 (2012).
Abstract Super-oscillation is a counterintuitive phenomenon describing localized fast variations of functions and fields that happen at frequencies higher than the highest Fourier component of their spectra. The physical implications of this effect have been studied in information theory and optics of classical fields, and have been used in super-resolution imaging. As a general phenomenon of wave dynamics, super-oscillations have also been predicted to exist in quantum wavefunctions. Here we report the experimental demonstration of super-oscillatory behavior of a single-quantum object, a photon. The super-oscillatory behavior is demonstrated by tight localization of the photon wavefunction after focusing with an appropriately designed slit mask to create an interference pattern with a sub-diffraction hotspot (~0.45 λ). Such quantum super-oscillation can be used for low-intensity far-field super-resolution imaging techniques even down to single-photon counting regime, which would be of interest to quantum physics and non-invasive and label-free biological studies.
Superoscillations, band-limited signals that locally oscillate faster than their highest Fourier component, have recently enabled superspectroscopy and super-sensing. Previous experiments [Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 153803 (2023), https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.153803 and APL Photonics 10, 086107 (2025), https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0271556] relied on combining four quasi-sinusoidal harmonics to generate temporal superoscillations. Here, we show that just two harmonics are sufficient to produce superoscillations of comparable quality, as quantified by the local frequency. By reanalyzing prior experimental data with two harmonics (0.5 and 0.6 THz) and performing new experiments with 0.9 and 1 THz harmonics, we demonstrate a twofold enhancement in local frequency relative to the highest frequency component -- matching the enhancement previously achieved with four harmonics. We provide a simple analytical explanation for the bichromatic superoscillations based on near-complete destructive interference, and identify an optimal frequency separation of approximately 10% that balances the superoscillatory frequency enhancement against signal amplitude. This simplification substantially lowers the experimental barrier to implementing superoscillation-based technology.
We present here a theoretical analysis of the interaction between an ideal two-level quantum system and a super-oscillatory pulse, like the one proposed and successfully synthesized in Ref. this http URL. As a prominent feature, these pulses present a high efficiency of the central super-oscillatory region in relation to the unavoidable side-lobes. Besides, our study shows an increase of the global bandwidth of the pulse, in the super-oscillatory region, and not only the appearance of a frequency higher than its highest Fourier-frequency component, as in the usual description of the phenomenon of super-oscillations. Beyond introducing the concept of super-bandwidth, the presented results could be relevant for experimental applications and opening new perspectives for laser-matter interaction.
Summary form only given. To achieve super-resolution one must take into account a priori information about localization of the object. Such an a priori information exists in the case of an object of finite size. Its Fourier transform located in the focal plane of the lens is an entire analytic function, and analytic continuation of the object spectrum outside the spatial-frequency band allows for unlimited resolution. However such a super-resolution is extremely sensitive to the noise in the detected image. The ultimate limit of super-resolution is determined by the quantum fluctuations of light in the detection plane. We present the quantum theory of super-resolution for a one-dimensional coherent optical imaging scheme and discuss possibilities of improving the resolution limit by using multimode squeezed light. For quantum-mechanical description of this scheme we take into account the vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field in the input plane outside the object. Interference of these vacuum fluctuations with the field amplitude of the object in the detection plane is the origin of the standard quantum limit or shot noise of photodetection in the image. To go beyond this limit we suggest to illuminate the object with multimode squeezed light having the spot size much larger than the object area. Then the vacuum fluctuations outside the object can be effectively suppressed resulting in sub-shot-noise detection of the image.
Resolving sources beyond the diffraction limit is important in imaging, communications, and metrology. Current image-based methods of super-resolution require phase information (either of the source points or an added filter) and perfect alignment with the centroid of the object. Both inhibit the practical application of these methods, as uniform motion and/or relative jitter destroy their assumptions. Here, we show that measuring intensity in the Fourier plane enables super-resolution without any of the issues of image-based methods. We start with the shift-invariance of the Fourier transform and the observation that the two-point position problem x1,x2{x_1,x_2}x1​,x2​ in the near field corresponds to the single-point wavenumber problem k =2π/(x2−x1)k\ =2π/(x_2-x_1)k =2π/(x2​−x1​) in the far field. We consider the full range of mutual coherence and show that for fully coherent sources, the Fourier method saturates the quantum limit, i.e. it gives the best possible measurement. Similar results hold for sub-Rayleigh constellations of NNN sources, which can act collectively as a spatially averaged metasurface and/or individually as elements of a phased-array antenna. The theory paves the way to merge Fourier optics with super-resolution techniques, enabling experimental devices that are both simpler and more robust than previous designs.
The method of optical centroid measurement (OCM) has shown to exhibit spatial super-resolution with enhancements at the Heisenberg limit in plane wave interference experiments. In this work, the OCM method is for the first time used in an imaging setting where actual object features are observed. The OCM result is rederived in a near-field imaging formalism for a general imaging system and in full 2-D treatment. Analogies to coherent and incoherent imaging are shown Moreover, coherent OCM imaging is experimentally implemented for photon number N = 2, where an experimental setup is presented which allows to generate the desired entangled two-photon state containing the super-resolved image. This state is then imaged by an imaging system with a finite resolution defined by its point spread function (PSF). The centroid measurement of the two-photon states delivers then an image with a width of the PSF reduced by a factor 2 corresponding to the Heisenberg limit. In the experiment, the object is illuminated by a continuous-wave pump laser centred at 405nm with an output power of 30mW. A 4-f lens system images the object to the state preparation output plane. In the far-field plane between the lenses, a 5mm long periodically poled KTiOPO4 non-linear crystal generates photon pairs at 810nm by type-0, frequency-degenerate and collinear spontaneous parametric down-conversion. This generated OCM state is then imaged by a single lens and detected in coincidence by a fully digital 2-D sensor array with single-photon sensitivity and per-pixel sub-nanosecond time resolution. The OCM state is spectrally filtered at 810nm. Its imaging capability is compared to classical light sources including spatially coherent, monochromatic illumination at 405nm and 810 nm, as well as spatially incoherent light at 810 nm. The former is implemented using collimated lasers, the latter is a thermal light source spectrally filtered at 810 nm. The PSF of the different light sources are compared at low numerical aperture by imaging a focal point of 25μm Gaussian waist radius.