Enhancing image contrast using coherent states and photon number resolving detectors

Abstract

We experimentally map the transverse profile of diffraction-limited beams using photon-number-resolving detectors. We observe strong compression of diffracted beam profiles for high detected photon number. This effect leads to higher contrast than a conventional irradiance profile between two Airy disk-beams separated by the Rayleigh criterion.

7 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Optics Express

References in corpus (3)

• Quantum Optical Metrology -- The Lowdown on High-N00N States
• Beating the Standard Quantum Limit with Four Entangled Photons
• Loss-Induced Limits to Phase Measurement Precision with Maximally Entangled States

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Fluorescence antibunching microscopy
• Self consistent, absolute calibration technique for photon number resolving detectors
• Sub-Rayleigh Imaging via N-Photon Detection