Sensing birefringence and diattenuation with undetected light

Area of Science:

• Quantum imaging
• Biomedical optics
• Advanced sensing technologies

Background:

• Developing advanced sensing and imaging technologies is critical for medical applications.
• Quantum-enhanced methods offer significant advantages over classical techniques for biological sensing.
• Characterizing tissue properties like birefringence and diattenuation requires polarization-sensitive sensing, a capability lacking in current quantum-imaging techniques with undetected light.

Purpose of the Study:

• To theoretically introduce controllable polarizations of interrogating light in a quantum-imaging setup.
• To demonstrate the potential of nonlinear interferometers for simultaneous sensing of birefringence and diattenuation with undetected light.
• To analyze the performance in both low- and high-gain regimes.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical modeling of a quantum-imaging setup utilizing nonlinear interferometers.
• Introduction of controllable polarizations for the interrogating light.
• Analysis of simultaneous sensing of birefringence and diattenuation using undetected light.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated the potential of nonlinear interferometers for simultaneous sensing of birefringence and diattenuation.
• Showcased the ability to perform polarization-sensitive sensing with undetected light.
• Discussed the performance characteristics in both low- and high-gain regimes.

Conclusions:

• Nonlinear interferometers are advantageous for biological sensing due to their bicolor nature and phase sensitivity.
• This theoretical framework enables simultaneous measurement of birefringence and diattenuation with undetected light.
• The proposed quantum-imaging approach holds promise for advanced medical imaging applications.