Path-entangled multi-photon states allow optical phase-sensing beyond the shot-noise limit, provided that an efficient parity measurement can be implemented. Realizing this experimentally is technologically demanding, as it requires coincident single-photon detection proportional to the number of photons involved, which represents a severe challenge for achieving a practical quantum advantage over classical methods. Here, we exploit advanced quantum state engineering based on superposing two photon-pair creation events to realize a new approach that bypasses this issue. In particular, optical phase shifts are probed with a two-photon quantum state whose information is subsequently effectively transferred to a single-photon state. Notably, without any multiphoton detection, we infer phase shifts by measuring the average intensity of the single-photon beam on a photodiode, in analogy to standard classical measurements. Importantly, our approach maintains the quantum advantage: twice as many interference fringes are observed for the same phase shift, corresponding to N = 2 path-entangled photons. Our results demonstrate that the advantages of quantum-enhanced phase sensing can be fully exploited in standard intensity measurements, paving the way toward resource-efficient and practical quantum optical metrology.
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13 July 2020
Research Article|
July 13 2020
Two-photon phase-sensing with single-photon detection
Special Collection:
Quantum Sensing with Correlated Light Sources
Panagiotis Vergyris;
Panagiotis Vergyris
1
Université Côte d'Azur, Institut de Physique de Nice (INPHYNI), CNRS
, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice Cedex 2, France
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Charles Babin;
Charles Babin
2
3rd Institute of Physics, IQST, and Research Center SCoPE, University of Stuttgart
, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
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Raphael Nold;
Raphael Nold
2
3rd Institute of Physics, IQST, and Research Center SCoPE, University of Stuttgart
, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
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Elie Gouzien;
Elie Gouzien
1
Université Côte d'Azur, Institut de Physique de Nice (INPHYNI), CNRS
, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice Cedex 2, France
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Harald Herrmann;
Harald Herrmann
3
Integrated Quantum Optics, Universität Paderborn
, Warburger Strasse 100, 33098 Paderborn, Germany
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Christine Silberhorn;
Christine Silberhorn
3
Integrated Quantum Optics, Universität Paderborn
, Warburger Strasse 100, 33098 Paderborn, Germany
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Olivier Alibart
;
Olivier Alibart
1
Université Côte d'Azur, Institut de Physique de Nice (INPHYNI), CNRS
, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice Cedex 2, France
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Sébastien Tanzilli
;
Sébastien Tanzilli
1
Université Côte d'Azur, Institut de Physique de Nice (INPHYNI), CNRS
, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice Cedex 2, France
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Florian Kaiser
Florian Kaiser
a)
1
Université Côte d'Azur, Institut de Physique de Nice (INPHYNI), CNRS
, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice Cedex 2, France
2
3rd Institute of Physics, IQST, and Research Center SCoPE, University of Stuttgart
, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: f.kaiser@pi3.uni-stuttgart.de
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a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: f.kaiser@pi3.uni-stuttgart.de
Note: This paper is part of the APL Special Collection on Quantum Sensing with Correlated Light Sources.
Appl. Phys. Lett. 117, 024001 (2020)
Article history
Received:
March 31 2020
Accepted:
June 24 2020
Citation
Panagiotis Vergyris, Charles Babin, Raphael Nold, Elie Gouzien, Harald Herrmann, Christine Silberhorn, Olivier Alibart, Sébastien Tanzilli, Florian Kaiser; Two-photon phase-sensing with single-photon detection. Appl. Phys. Lett. 13 July 2020; 117 (2): 024001. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0009527
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