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Laser & Photonics Review

Phase‐Controlled Quantum Sensing of Weak Forces

Qian Zhang, Jie Wang, Ya‐Feng Jiao, Hang Cheng, Ran Huang, Hui‐Zu Lin, Franco Nori, Hui Jing

Published Dec 17, 2025• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cavity optomechanical (COM) sensors based on whispering‐gallery‐mode (WGM) resonators have emerged as highly sensitive platforms for probing weak external perturbations, enabling diverse applications from precision metrology to fundamental tests of physics. In this work, a quantum‐enhanced scheme for weak‐force sensing in a WGM resonator is proposed. The system leverages phase control between two coherent driving fields and incorporates realistic imperfections to engineer optical squeezing within the cavity. By finely tuning the relative phase, strong optical squeezing and quantum entanglement between counter‐propagating modes are generated within the cavity, achieving an optimal force sensitivity beyond the standard quantum limit (SQL) and a quantum noise reduction of up to three orders of magnitude. Furthermore, optimal parameter regimes for achieving minimal quantum power spectral density are systematically identified. These findings reveal a new route for phase‐enabled quantum sensing in the high‐quality WGM resonator, with potential implications for high‐precision measurements and quantum information technologies.

DOI
10.1002/lpor.202501000

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ABSTRACT Cavity optomechanical (COM) sensors based on whispering‐gallery‐mode (WGM) resonators have emerged as highly sensitive platforms for probing weak external perturbations, enabling diverse applications from precision metrology to fundamental tests of physics. In this work, a quantum‐enhanced scheme for weak‐force sensing in a WGM resonator is proposed. The system leverages phase control between two coherent driving fields and incorporates realistic imperfections to engineer optical squeezing within the cavity. By finely tuning the relative phase, strong optical squeezing and quantum entanglement between counter‐propagating modes are generated within the cavity, achieving an optimal force sensitivity beyond the standard quantum limit (SQL) and a quantum noise reduction of up to three orders of magnitude. Furthermore, optimal parameter regimes for achieving minimal quantum power spectral density are systematically identified. These findings reveal a new route for phase‐enabled quantum sensing in the high‐quality WGM resonator, with potential implications for high‐precision measurements and quantum information technologies.
Cavity optomechanical systems have emerged as a promising platform for quantum sensing. Quantum mechanics imposes a standard quantum limit (SQL) on the force-sensitivity for the standard homodyne phase quadrature measurement of the cavity's output field. In this paper, we investigate ways to enhance weak force sensitivity beyond SQL by employing a variational homodyne quadrature readout and quantum squeezing. Our study reveals a remarkable improvement in the force sensitivity of a cavity optomechanical sensor at a suitable homodyne angle, compared with standard phase quadrature detection of the cavity output field within a specific frequency band. We further demonstrate improved force sensitivity via intra-cavity squeezing (ICS) or injected external squeezing (IES) of the cavity mode. Both variational homodyne readout and quantum squeezing induce quantum correlations between the amplitude and phase quadratures of the cavity's output field, thereby improving force sensitivity. Our results suggest that IES is preferable to ICS for sub-SQL force sensing with system stability and lower probe power requirements. The squeezing-enhanced variational homodyne detection scheme can enable high-precision quantum sensing across various hybrid quantum platforms.
Cavity optomechanical (COM) sensors, enhanced by quantum squeezing or entanglement, have become powerful tools for measuring ultra-weak forces with high precision and sensitivity. However, these sensors usually rely on linear COM couplings, a fundamental limitation when measurements of the mechanical energy are desired. Very recently, a giant enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio was predicted in a quadratic COM system. Here we show that the performance of such a system can be further improved surpassing the standard quantum limit by using quantum squeezed light. Our approach is compatible with available engineering techniques of advanced COM sensors and provides new opportunities for using COM sensors in tests of fundamental laws of physics and quantum metrology applications.
We investigate the enhancement in sensitivity when measuring a weak force through the optical response of an optomechanical oscillator driven by squeezed light. In the context of a quantum sensor based on cavity-optomechanics, the sensitivity scaling measured by the quantum Fisher information for a squeezed vacuum state pump is compared to that for a coherent state pump. We show that squeezed state inputs can produce noise levels below the standard quantum limit and even the Heisenberg limit in given regimes. This study shows that new pathways can be opened for enhanced quantum sensing with optomechanical systems conducive to measuring various physical quantities such as gravitational force, acceleration, and acoustics.
Quantum sensing, leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics, has revolutionized the field of precision measurement by achieving sensitivities beyond the classical limits. Among the various platforms for quantum sensing, cavity optomechanics has emerged as a particularly promising field. It studies the interaction between light and mechanical resonators within high-Q optical cavities, providing unique opportunities for enhancing measurement precision and sensitivity in quantum sensing. With advancements in technology, the range of applications for cavity optomechanics in quantum sensing is expanding rapidly. Particularly, the integration of optoelectronic technologies and miniaturization techniques holds promise for the development of more compact, efficient, and scalable quantum sensors. Quantum sensing with cavity optomechanics has been extensively studied and has progressed enormously over the past decades. This paper provides a systematic review of research on quantum sensing with cavity optomechanics, starting from the fundamental principles of optomechanical coupling, to the achievement of quantum ground-state cooling of mechanical oscillators and the preparation of basic quantum states, and then to the mechanisms of quantum sensing based on cavity optomechanics. Furthermore, we survey recent advancements in quantum sensing utilizing cavity optomechanics, including the enhancement of optomechanical sensing through the use of entanglement, squeezing, and quantum exceptional points. Finally, perspectives and opportunities for future developments of this field are provided.
ABSTRACT We propose a scheme to achieve exponential amplification of weak magnetic‐field signals and significant suppression of additional noise in a cavity magnonics. By introducing a two‐photon pump field and constructing single‐quadrature coupling between modes in the squeezed representation, a significant enhancement of the signal response based on quantum nondemolition measurement can be achieved. Fine‐tuning the squeezing parameters of the pump field enables the realization of high signal response under both strong and weak cavity‐magnon coupling regimes, thereby enhancing the controllability of the sensor. In addition, by introducing an auxiliary broadband squeezed source, the additional noise can be suppressed far below the standard quantum limit (SQL) through quantum destructive interference between the two noise fields, thereby significantly enhancing the sensor's performance. This scheme, combining exponential signal amplification with significant noise suppression, offers a powerful platform for the development of quantum sensors and advances in quantum precision measurements.
Cavity optomechanical (COM) sensors, featuring efficient light-motion couplings, have been widely used for ultra sensitive measurements of various physical quantities ranging from displacements to accelerations or weak forces. Previous works, however, have mainly focused on reciprocal COM systems. Here, we propose how to further improve the performance of quantum COM sensors by breaking reciprocal symmetry in purely quantum regime. Specifically, we consider a spinning COM resonator and show that by selectively driving it in opposite directions, highly nonreciprocal optical squeezing can emerge, which in turn provides an efficient way to surpass the standard quantum limit that otherwise exists in conventional reciprocal devices. Our work confirms that breaking reciprocal symmetry, already achieved in diverse systems well beyond spinning systems, can serve as a new strategy to further enhance the abilities of advanced quantum sensors, for applications ranging from testing fundamental physical laws to practical quantum metrology.