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Metamaterials, Metadevices, and Metasystems

Absolute quantum advantage in light microscopy

Warwick P. Bowen

Published Aug 3, 2021• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

State-of-the-art microscopes use intense lasers that can severely disturb biological processes, function and viability. This introduces hard limits on performance that only quantum photon correlations can overcome. In this talk I will report recent work from my laboratory which demonstrates this absolute quantum advantage [1]. We show, specifically, that quantum correlations enable signal-to-noise beyond the photodamage-free capacity of conventional microscopy. Broadly, this represents the first demonstration that quantum correlations can allow sensing beyond the limits introduced by optical intrusion upon the measurement process. We achieve this in a coherent Raman microscope, which we use to image molecular bonds within a cell with both quantum-enhanced contrast and sub-wavelength resolution. This allows the observation of nanoscale biological structures that would otherwise not be resolved. Coherent Raman microscopes allow highly selective biomolecular finger-printing in unlabelled specimens, but photodamage is a major roadblock for many applications. By showing that this roadblock can be overcome, our work provides a path towards order-of-magnitude improvements in both sensitivity and imaging speed.

DOI
10.1117/12.2603654

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State-of-the-art microscopes use intense lasers that can severely disturb biological processes, function and viability. This introduces hard limits on performance that only quantum photon correlations can overcome. In this talk I will report recent work from my laboratory which demonstrates this absolute quantum advantage [1]. We show, specifically, that quantum correlations enable signal-to-noise beyond the photodamage-free capacity of conventional microscopy. Broadly, this represents the first demonstration that quantum correlations can allow sensing beyond the limits introduced by optical intrusion upon the measurement process. We achieve this in a coherent Raman microscope, which we use to image molecular bonds within a cell with both quantum-enhanced contrast and sub-wavelength resolution. This allows the observation of nanoscale biological structures that would otherwise not be resolved. Coherent Raman microscopes allow highly selective biomolecular finger-printing in unlabelled specimens, but photodamage is a major roadblock for many applications. By showing that this roadblock can be overcome, our work provides a path towards order-of-magnitude improvements in both sensitivity and imaging speed.
State-of-the-art microscopes use intense lasers that can severely disturb biological processes, function and viability. This introduces hard limits on performance that only quantum photon correlations can overcome. Here we demonstrate this absolute quantum advantage, achieving signal-to-noise beyond the photodamage-free capacity of conventional microscopy. We achieve this in a coherent Raman microscope, which we use to image molecular bonds within a cell with both quantum-enhanced contrast and sub-wavelength resolution. This allows the observation of nanoscale biological structures that would otherwise not be resolved. Coherent Raman microscopes allow highly selective biomolecular finger-printing in unlabelled specimens, but photodamage is a major roadblock for many applications. By showing that this roadblock can be overcome, our work provides a path towards order-of-magnitude improvements in both sensitivity and imaging speed.
State-of-the-art microscopes use intense lasers that can severely disturb biological processes, function and viability. This introduces hard limits on performance that only quantum photon correlations can overcome. Here we demonstrate this absolute quantum advantage, achieving signal-to-noise beyond the photodamage-free capacity of conventional microscopy. We achieve this in a coherent Raman microscope, which we use to image molecular bonds within a cell with both quantum-enhanced contrast and sub-wavelength resolution. This allows the observation of nanoscale biological structures that would otherwise not be resolved. Coherent Raman microscopes allow highly selective biomolecular finger-printing in unlabelled specimens, but photodamage is a major roadblock for many applications. By showing that this roadblock can be overcome, our work provides a path towards order-of-magnitude improvements in both sensitivity and imaging speed.
In optical microscopy, as in any biological measurement performed with light, there is a compromise between increasing power to improve resolution and decreasing power to prevent photodamage to the biological structure. Quantum optics allows this compromise to be overcome, enabling improved precision without increased illumination intensity. This thesis demonstrates, for the first time, absolute quantum advantage in microscopy, with a specific focus on Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) microscopy.SRS microscopy is a powerful tool widely used in many fields, especially in biomedical sciences. It uses a two-photon process where the light is downshifted in frequency by being absorbed and subsequently inelastically scattered by the intrinsic molecular vibrations in the sample. Each element or molecule has a different response, allowing selective imaging of biological systems. SRS microscopy is particularly useful because it is label-free (no addition of dyes, beads or any implanted tracer), meaning that imaging contrast is achieved without modification of, or interference with, the specimen. Here I present our newly built state-of-the-art shot-noise limited SRS microscope. I also characterize the Raman microscope, describe the developped imaging system and show SRS spectroscopy and imaging of both polystyrene beads and living yeast cells.The quantisation of light introduces a fundamental uncertainty, or quantum noise, in both the amplitude and phase quadratures of an optical field. A squeezed state of light is a state of the optical field where the uncertainty of one of these quadratures is reduced below the quantum noise. Therefore, it provides an approach to reduce the noise level below this quantum noise limit and consequently increases measured signal-to-noise ratio. Here I describe the concepts involved in this technique and present our newly built light squeezer. I characterize the squeezing and show up to -1.3 dB of noise floor reduction for a 6 picosecond pulsed laser, which is the pulse duration that maximises the Raman interaction.In this thesis we apply squeezed states of light in SRS, developping a quantum-enhanced micro- scope. Our SRS Raman intensity noise is ∆I/I ≈ 10^(−7) and the measured quantum efficiency of the built photodiode is η = 72%. In this proof of principle we show a reduction of the noise floor of at least 13% below the quantum noise limit for Raman imaging of polystyrene beads and living yeast cells. This enhancement allowed us to resolve the cell membrane where with conventional microscope would be unresolvable. It also allowed sub-micron spatial resolution. The improved image contrast and reduced imaging time, while avoiding photodamage in the sample, surpasses the current state-of-the-art Raman microscopes and opens opportunities for new discoveries in biophysics.
Nonlinear optical processes are used in biological microscopy to surpass the diffraction limit on resolution, image deeper into brain tissues, and identify biomolecules without exogenous labels. These techniques typically require high optical intensities to increase the strength of the nonlinear interactions, which can perturb native biochemistry and damage or kill living samples. Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy visualizes the spatial distribution of molecules using a nonlinear interaction between light and chemically specific molecular vibrations. However, the detection of biomolecules at low concentrations is limited by the total photon dose that can be applied before photodamage alters the sample, and photon shot noise sets the minimum achievable noise floor for most microscopes. Here we demonstrate a cavity-enhanced SRS microscope that is more sensitive than an equivalent conventional SRS microscope by up to 8.3(7) dB in spectroscopy and 8.6(1) dB in cell imaging. These results approach quantum limits on sensitivity and demonstrate that quantum states of light are sufficient but not necessary to enhance the sensitivity of microscopy techniques that are limited by photodamage.
Much of our progress in understanding microscale biology has been powered by advances in microscopy. For instance, super-resolution microscopes allow the observation of biological structures at near-atomic-scale resolution, while multi-photon microscopes allow imaging deep into tissue. However, biological structures and dynamics still often remain out of reach of existing microscopes, with further advances in signal-to-noise, resolution and speed needed to access them. In many cases, the performance of microscopes is now limited by quantum effects – such as noise due to the quantisation of light into photons or, for multi-photon microscopes, the low cross-section of multi-photon scattering. These limitations can be overcome by exploiting features of quantum mechanics such as entanglement. Quantum effects can also provide new ways to enhance the performance of microscopes, such as new super-resolution techniques and new techniques to image at difficult to reach wavelengths. This review provides an overview of these various ways in which quantum techniques can improve microscopy, including recent experimental progress. It seeks to provide a realistic picture of what is possible, and what the constraints and opportunities are.