Quantum Mechanics and Photon Counting Using Modern Camera Technology

Parametric Down-Conversion is central to most experiments in quantum optics. In essence, photons from an incident pump beam are absorbed by a non-linear crystal and two new photons are created. These new photons are created in exactly the same position and with exactly opposite transverse momentum.

Furthermore, if one of the photons has a slightly higher frequency, the other has a slightly lower one. These position, momentum and wavelength correlations lie at the heart of many proofs and investigations into quantum mechanics but also create new opportunities for better-than-classical sensing in the forms of both spectroscopy and imaging.

Early investigations required specialist detectors that had to be scanned over the beam, but now things are changing. Modern camera technology, both EMCCD and ICCD, can match the performance of these single element detectors, opening new windows into the quantum world and its applications.

This talk discussed some of these applications and asked how things might be even better in the future.

Speakers: Professor Miles Padgett (University of Glasgow) and Dr Radoslaw Chrapkiewicz (Stanford University)