Abstract
Quantum optical coherence tomography (Q-OCT) presents many advantages over its classical counterpart, optical coherence tomography (OCT), provides an increased axial resolution, and is immune to even orders of dispersion. The core of Q-OCT is the quantum interference of negatively correlated entangled photon pairs which, in the Fourier domain, are observed by means of a joint spectrum measurement. In this work, we explore the use of a spectral approach in a novel configuration where classical light pulses are employed instead of entangled photons. The intensity of these light pulses is reduced to a single photon level. We report theoretical analysis along with its experimental validation to show that although such a classical light is much easier to launch into an experimental system, it offers limited benefits compared to Q-OCT based on the entangled light. We analyze the differences in the characteristics of the joint spectrum obtained with entangled photons and with classical optical pulses and point out to the differences’ source: the lack of the advantage-bringing term in the signal.
© 2024 Optica Publishing Group
Full Article | PDF ArticleCorrections
14 January 2024: A typographical correction was made to the acknowledgments.
More Like This
Sylwia M. Kolenderska, Frédérique Vanholsbeeck, and Piotr Kolenderski
Opt. Lett. 45(13) 3443-3446 (2020)
Weijia Fan, David A. Miller, Shichu Chang, Junghun Kweon, Wei-Hong Yeo, Marta Grannonico, Xiaorong Liu, and Hao F. Zhang
Opt. Lett. 49(8) 1880-1883 (2024)
J. Lavoie, R. Kaltenbaek, and K. J. Resch
Opt. Express 17(5) 3818-3826 (2009)