Quantum Optics seminar: Guillaume Thekkadath (National Research Council Canada)

Determining the modal structure of quantum light using intensity interferometry

Determining the modal structure of quantum light is important for photonic information processing and imaging. A full modal characterization requires determining both the amplitude and phase of light’s spatial and spectral distributions, as well as its polarization. In this talk, I will show how to perform this full characterization using intensity correlation interferometry with a classical reference field. The main benefits of this technique are that it does not require phase stability or nonlinearities. It can be applied to any quantum signal, including single photons and entangled photon pairs. I will present an experimental demonstration in the spectral domain [1] and in the spatial domain [2].

[1] G.S. Thekkadath et al. “Measuring the joint spectral mode of photon pairs using intensity interferometry”, Physical Review Letters 128 023601 (2022)

[2] G.S. Thekkadath et al. “Intensity interferometry for holography with quantum and classical light”, Science Advances 9 eadh1439 (2023)