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Optics Express

Measuring small displacements of an optical point source with digital holography

Chaohui Zhou, Jun Xin, Yanan Li, Xiao-Ming Lu

Published May 17, 2023• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The image of an optical point source is blurred due to light diffraction so that estimating small displacements of the point source with direct imaging demands elaborate processing on the observation data of a camera. Using quantum parameter estimation, we show that for the imaging systems with a real point spread function, any measurement basis constituted by a complete set of real-valued spatial-mode functions is optimal for estimating the displacement. For small displacements, we can concentrate the information about the value of displacement to the measurement of a few spatial modes, which can be selected in terms of the Fisher information distribution. We use digital holography with a phase-only spatial light modulator to implement two simple estimation strategies that are mainly based on the projection measurement of two spatial modes and the readout of a single pixel of a camera.

DOI
10.1364/oe.486539

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The image of an optical point source is blurred due to light diffraction so that estimating small displacements of the point source with direct imaging demands elaborate processing on the observation data of a camera. Using quantum parameter estimation, we show that for the imaging systems with a real point spread function, any measurement basis constituted by a complete set of real-valued spatial-mode functions is optimal for estimating the displacement. For small displacements, we can concentrate the information about the value of displacement to the measurement of a few spatial modes, which can be selected in terms of the Fisher information distribution. We use digital holography with a phase-only spatial light modulator to implement two simple estimation strategies that are mainly based on the projection measurement of two spatial modes and the readout of a single pixel of a camera.
Optical precision measurement is evolving from conventional intensity and phase readout toward a paradigm centered on mode selection, statistical estimation, and information extraction. Conventional intensity- and phase-based schemes can achieve high sensitivity, but their performance is often constrained by finite-aperture diffraction, reference stability, optical path control, and environmental perturbations in systems. Quantum estimation theory provides a physical framework for optical resolution and measurement precision by optimizing the measurement basis. Inspired by spatial mode demultiplexing, this paper extends quantum parameter estimation from incoherent point-source resolution to small-displacement measurement. Metasurface enabled mode control converts displacement induced optical-field variations into measurable changes in orthogonal modal coefficients, providing a route for extracting sub-diffraction-scale displacement information. This paper introduces Rayleigh’s curse, Fisher information, and spatial mode projection, discusses their applications in one-dimensional displacement measurement and two-dimensional super-resolution imaging, and outlines future directions in digital optics, Engineering Optics 2.0, mode-basis optimization, two-dimensional information reconstruction, and intelligent optical measurement systems for engineering applications.
Quantum superresolution reveals that the vanishing of separation sensitivity in conventional imaging below the Rayleigh limit does not necessarily indicate a fundamental loss of information in the optical field. However, the quantum limit for estimating the physical distance between two incoherent point sources in three-dimensional imaging systems and its dependence on the spatial structure of the point-spread function remains largely unknown. In this work, we derive the quantum-limited precision for estimating the full distance between two incoherent point sources with arbitrary intensity imbalance in a three-dimensional spatially invariant imaging system. We show that the distance information remains finite in the sub-Rayleigh regime and is governed by the second-order displacement-response tensor of the point-spread function. The eigensystem of this tensor determines the optimal relative orientation between the two sources, and reflection symmetries of the point-spread function can further provide a simplified means of identifying the optimal orientation. This geometric structure is coordinate invariant and provides a direct strategy for improving resolution by physically rotating an anisotropic imaging system to align its optimal principal response direction with the source displacement. For a general three-dimensional Gaussian point-spread function, the response tensor is proportional to the inverse spatial covariance, establishing a direct connection between quantum-limited distance precision and the geometry of Gaussian distribution.
Due to the wave nature of light, optical imaging is inherently subject to diffraction, which typically dictates the resolution limit for two-point sources. A practical way to describe this phenomenon is through Rayleigh’s criterion, which states that two sources are barely resolvable when the minimum of one source's diffraction pattern coincides with the maximum of the other. However, recent advances in optical quantum metrology have shown that this classical limit can be surpassed by leveraging the spatial correlations within the light field. Specifically, decomposing the light into a Hermite-Gauss mode basis provides substantially more information than traditional direct imaging, which measures local intensity [1,2,3]. In this work, we implement a spatial demultiplexing technique to estimate the separation between light sources of unequal brightness. This unknown imbalance adds complexity to the estimation task, making it inherently a multiparameter problem and thus requiring a multimode approach [4]. By optimizing the measurement strategy and introducing a shift between two demultiplexers, we achieve sub-Rayleigh resolution in distance measurements without assuming prior knowledge of the intensity imbalance or alignment. [1] Tsang, M., Nair, R., & Lu, X. M. (2016). Quantum theory of superresolution for two incoherent optical point sources. Physical Review X, 6(3), 031033. [2] Sorelli, G., Gessner, M., Walschaers, M., & Treps, N. (2021). Optimal observables and estimators for practical superresolution imaging. Physical Review Letters, 127(12), 123604. [3] Rouvière, C., Barral, D., Grateau, A., Karuseichyk, I., Sorelli, G., Walschaers, M., & Treps, N. (2024). Ultra-sensitive separation estimation of optical sources. Optica, 11(2), 166-170. [4] Řeháček, J., Hradil, Z., Koutný, D., Grover, J., Krzic, A., & Sánchez-Soto, L. L. (2018). Optimal measurements for quantum spatial superresolution. Physical review A, 98(1), 012103.
We develop a quantum statistical framework for passive optical surface metrology. Modelling a surface as an incoherent ensemble of point emitters imaged through a diffraction-limited system, we employ techniques from quantum parameter estimation and hypothesis testing to derive ultimate bounds for jointly estimating geometrical features and for deciding the presence or absence of surface defects, and we identify optimal measurements from the geometry of the point-spread-function manifold. As a representative application, we analyse a minimal surface crack model based on three point sources and show that spatial mode sorting can simultaneously enable near-quantum-limited estimation of crack width and depth and markedly enhanced detectability of the crack, compared with direct imaging. Our results pave the way towards enhanced optical inspection and characterisation of sub-diffraction surface features by probing a limited number of spatial modes without any illumination control.
Resolving light sources below the diffraction limit is a fundamental task both for astronomy and microscopy. Several recent works analysed this problem through the lens of quantum parameter estimation theory and proved that the separation between two point sources can be estimated at the quantum limit using intensity measurements after spatial-mode demultiplexing. We implement this technique and provide an optimal estimator based on a linear combination of demultiplexed intensity measurements [1]–[3]. Our experimental setup (see Fig. 1 (left)) allows for the generation of the images of two sources, with tunable mutual coherence, as well as for spatial mode demultiplexing to estimate their separation [4].
Resolving light sources below the diffraction limit is a fundamental task both for astronomy and microscopy. Several recent works analysed this problem through the lens of quantum parameter estimation theory and proved that the separation between two point sources can be estimated at the quantum limit using intensity measurements after spatial-mode demultiplexing. We implement this technique and provide an optimal estimator based on a linear combination of demultiplexed intensity measurements [1–3]. Our experimental setup allows for the generation of the images of two sources, with tunable mutual coherence, as well as for spatial mode demultiplexing to estimate their separation [4].