Matt's Blog

Quantum lithography with classical light

Thu May 4 09:18:48 BST 2006

  • Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 163603 (2006)
    • Title: Quantum Lithography with Classical Light
    • Authors: P. R. Hemmer, A. Muthukrishnan, M. O. Scully, and M. S. Zubairy
    • Abstract: We show how to achieve subwavelength diffraction and imaging with classical light, previously thought to require quantum fields. By correlating wave vector and frequency in a narrow band, multiphoton detection process that uses Doppleron-type resonances, we show how to achieve arbitrary focal and image plane patterning with classical laser light at submultiples of the Rayleigh limit, with high efficiency, visibility, and spatial coherence. A frequency-selective measurement process thus allows one to simulate, semiclassically, the path-number correlations that distinguish a quantum entangled field.
    • Comment:
    • "Basic principle is a correlation between the wave vector and frequency such that a narrowband, multiphoton detector absorbs \"bunches\" of photons from different propagation directions."
    • "Key result is that the direction selectivity of the absorptive measurement process literally simulates path-number correlations between counterpropagating photons (previously associated with quantized light fields)."
    • This is the third method that I know of now to beat the Rayleigh limit, the others being the use of non-classical light (mentioned in this paper), and the use of special light polarization to get down to about lambda/10 (basic idea is to match the field coming out of an atom, I went to a Atomic and Laser seminar on it, need to track down my notes. Vaguely remember the speaker was from the Netherlands?). Another method is to use superlens materials, i.e. materials with negative optical index.

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