Abstract

We introduce optical lock-in detection in coincidence photon counting to enhance the extraction of information in “quantum-light spectroscopy”, based on using time-frequency entangled photon pairs to probe a molecular sample. The sample is placed inside a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, into which photons are injected and detected in coincidence at the interferometer output. Clear signatures of two-photon interference (both ‘Hong-Ou-Mandel’ and ‘N00N’) are observed and separated into distinct information channels. In addition to achieving an increased signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at low count rates, the experiment uses a “down-sampling” technique that increases the efficiency of data collection by an order of magnitude.

© 2019 The Author(s)