Quantum Sensing and Nano Electronics and Photonics

Entanglement-enabled qualification of optical-material properties

Romain Dalidet, Anthony Martin, Grégory Sauder, Laurent Labonté, Sébastien Tanzilli

Published Mar 21, 2025• 0 citations

Abstract

We show several quantum-sensing experimental realizations dedicated to the qualification of optical-material key-properties, such as chromatic dispersion and refractive index variations. More specifically, the material under test (typically, an optical fibre or a nonlinear crystal) is introduced in one of the two arms or in the loop of interferometric devices, mainly in Mach-Zehnder and Sagnac configurations. Probing such devices using peculiar quantum, or quantum-mimicking, photonic states creates material-under-test-dependent relative-phase differences that are imprinted on the established coherent superposition. Here, the employed photonic states exhibit specific modal structures, in the frequency and/or spatial domains, that exploit or mimic quantum entanglement, providing access to the relative phases and to the optical properties under investigation. Associated measurement results show unprecedented precision and/or accuracy, reduced overhead, and otherwise unreachable stability and repeatability. Such quantum interferometric methods pave the way to redefining the very way optical materials are characterized, finding repercussion in various fields ranging from fundamental optics to industry-grade developments.

DOI: 10.1117/12.3038907

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