Researchers from the University of Ottawa, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), and Imperial College London has developed a groundbreaking technique inspired by quantum principles for holography. This technique allows the recording and reconstruction of extremely faint light beams containing a single particle of light, known as a photon. By utilizing this quantum-inspired holography technique, the researchers aim to revolutionize 3D scene reconstruction and unlock numerous applications in various fields.
Unlike traditional holography methods, the quantum-inspired technique offers two significant advantages. Firstly, it demonstrates remarkable resilience to mechanical instabilities, such as vibrations, during the hologram recording process. This allows for extended hologram recording durations, ensuring superior precision. Secondly, the technique can be used to record holograms of self-luminous or remote objects.
This breakthrough has the potential to enable 3D imaging of distant objects and facilitate the characterization of the spatial shape of single photon emission from quantum dots and single atoms. The researchers credit advancements in quantum imaging and the availability of cutting-edge commercial camera technology as key factors in their achievements. The utilization of advanced cameras with precise timing and location stamps for detecting single particles of light enables the necessary correlations for recording holograms.
Holography differs from traditional photography by capturing not only scene intensity but also information about the relative delay between light collected from different parts of the scene, known as phase. The newly developed technique utilizes a different type of interference, focusing on the correlations between the intensities of two light sources. These correlations can reveal quantum interference effects, even in single photons.
The implications of this research are far-reaching, with potential applications in fields such as astronomy, nanotechnology, and quantum computing. The future of holography appears promising, thanks to this innovative quantum-inspired technique.
The study titled “Intensity interferometry for holography with quantum and classical light” was published in Science Advances.
Source: University of Ottawa