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Chinese Physics B

Super-resolving refractive index measurements with even coherent-state sources and parity detection

Qiang 强 Wang 王, X. Yang, Fu 甫 Song 宋, Lili Hao

Published Jun 26, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract High-precision refractive index measurement has become a research hotspot in recent years. However, traditional refractive index measurement often adopts intensity detection, whose performance is restricted by the classical detection limit and is thus hard to improve further. In order to break through this limitation, we propose a quantum-enhanced refractive index sensing scheme utilizing even-coherent-state sources in combination with parity detection. In this paper, we analyze the detection performance of the proposed system. Due to the inevitable photon loss in practical applications, the effects of photon loss on resolution and sensitivity are also investigated. Numerical results show that the resolution of the proposed strategy breaks through the Rayleigh limit and achieves super-resolving refractive index measurement. Relative to existing coherent-state schemes, our strategy leads to a twofold resolution improvement. Furthermore, the physical origins of the super-resolution are analyzed.

DOI
10.1088/1674-1056/ade8de

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Abstract High-precision refractive index measurement has become a research hotspot in recent years. However, traditional refractive index measurement often adopts intensity detection, whose performance is restricted by the classical detection limit and is thus hard to improve further. In order to break through this limitation, we propose a quantum-enhanced refractive index sensing scheme utilizing even-coherent-state sources in combination with parity detection. In this paper, we analyze the detection performance of the proposed system. Due to the inevitable photon loss in practical applications, the effects of photon loss on resolution and sensitivity are also investigated. Numerical results show that the resolution of the proposed strategy breaks through the Rayleigh limit and achieves super-resolving refractive index measurement. Relative to existing coherent-state schemes, our strategy leads to a twofold resolution improvement. Furthermore, the physical origins of the super-resolution are analyzed.
We investigate the performance of the super-resolving quantum lidar with the entangled coherent states of light in the presence of loss and noise, especially in the noisy case. An exact analytical expression of the output signal has been derived with the binary-outcome photon counting measurements. Numerical results show that the resolution of our scheme with parity detection is √N (N) times enhanced relative to that of the coherent-state strategy with the same (intensity) detection in the lossless and noiseless cases. The influences of phase diffusion on resolution and sensitivity have been analyzed and discussed. It is found that the super-resolution emerges in the whole diffusion rate regions, whereas the super-sensitivity just exists in the high and low diffusion rate regimes. Comparisons are made with the well known N00N states, the results show that the entangled coherent states performs better resolution and sensitivity than those of the N00N scheme in the whole diffusion regimes. In addition, the effects of photon loss on resolution and sensitivity have also been studied. The phase sensitivity can beat the shot noise limit and the resolution is much better than the Rayleigh diffraction limit in the whole loss regions. Finally, the zero-nonzero photon counting measurement gives much worse sensitivity than that of the parity detection, which is just opposite from the case as demonstrated in a recent coherent-light Mach-Zehnder experiment.
There has been much recent interest in quantum optical interferometry for applications to metrology, subwavelength imaging, and remote sensing such as in quantum laser radar (LADAR). For quantum LADAR, atmospheric absorption rapidly degrades any quantum state of light, so that for high-photon loss the optimal strategy is to transmit coherent states of light, which suffer no worse loss than the Beer law for classical optical attenuation, and which provides sensitivity at the shot-noise limit. We show that coherent light coupled with photon-number-resolving detectors can provide a super-resolution much below the Rayleigh diffraction limit, with sensitivity no worse than shot noise in terms of the detected photon power.
Classically, the resolution of optical measurements is limited by the Rayleigh limit and their sensitivity by the shot noise limit. However, non-classical measurements can surpass these limits. Measuring the photon number parity using a photon-number resolving detector, super resolved phase measurements up to 144 better than the Rayleigh limit are presented, with coherent states of up to 4,200 photons on average. An additional measurement that can be implemented with standard single-photon detectors is proposed and demonstrated. With this scheme, super resolution at the shot noise limit is demonstrated with coherent states of up to 200 photons on average.
There has been much recent interest in quantum metrology for applications to sub-Raleigh ranging and remote sensing such as in quantum radar. For quantum radar, atmospheric absorption and diffraction rapidly degrades any actively transmitted quantum states of light, such as N00N states, so that for this high-loss regime the optimal strategy is to transmit coherent states of light, which suffer no worse loss than the linear Beer's law for classical radar attenuation, and which provide sensitivity at the shot-noise limit in the returned power. We show that coherent radar radiation sources, coupled with a quantum homodyne detection scheme, provide both longitudinal and angular super-resolution much below the Rayleigh diffraction limit, with sensitivity at shot-noise in terms of the detected photon power. Our approach provides a template for the development of a complete super-resolving quantum radar system with currently available technology.
Interference metrology is a method for achieving high precision detection by phase estimation. The phase sensitivity of a traditional interferometer is subject to the standard quantum limit, while its resolution is constrained by the Rayleigh diffraction limit. The resolution and sensitivity of phase measurement can be enhanced by using quantum metrology. We propose a quantum interference metrology scheme using the entangled squeezed vacuum state, which is obtained using the magic beam splitter, expressed as | ψ ⟩ = ( | ξ ⟩ | 0 ⟩ + | 0 ⟩ | ξ ⟩ ) / 2 + 2 / cosh ⁡ r , such as the N00N state. We derive the phase sensitivity and the resolution of the system with Z detection, project detection, and parity detection. By simulation and analysis, we determine that parity detection is an optimal detection method, which can break through the Rayleigh diffraction limit and the standard quantum limit.
One important problem in quantum optics is to resolve an extremely small change of phase shift. The complementarity between photon number and phase sets an ultimate limit, the so-called Heisenberg limit, on the phase measurement sensitivity. The precise phase estimation has many technological applications, such as optical gyroscopes, gravitational wave detection, quantum imaging and sensing. In this thesis I show that the utilization of the parity measurement in the optical interferometry is actually applicable to a wide range of quantum entangled input states. Comparison of the performance of the various quantum states then can be made within such a unified output measurement scheme. Based on such a universal detection scheme, we present a comparison of the phase sensitivity reduction for various quantum states of light in the presence of photon loss. I also provide a simple condition that could be used to check whether an arbitrary state can achieve the Heisenberg limit independently of the detection scheme. It implies that the fidelity between the two output states with zero phase and minimal detectable phase applied respectively should significantly different from unity as the minimal phase shift scaling as 1/N, whereas the average number of input photons N goes to infinity. Next I give several measures to characterize the which-way information in the interference experiment. We define a new distinguishability associated with the fidelity between two density matrices to measure the which-way information. We demonstrate that the changes of mutual entropy as well as the entanglement of formation of the whole system, i.e. the physical system plus the which-way detector can also be used to describe the which-way information. With such quantities, we show that as the fringe visibility of the interference pattern gets larger, the less which-way information is obtained. Finally, I show that coherent light coupled with photon number resolving detectors can provide a super-resolution much below the Rayleigh diffraction limit, with sensitivity no worse than shot-noise in terms of the detected photon power. This scheme would have applications to laser radar, given the difficulty in making entangled states of light, as well as their susceptibility to atmospheric absorption.