A research team led by the University of Strathclyde has discovered that two-photon processes—key to biomedical imaging and spectroscopy can be enhanced by quantum light at significantly higher intensities than previously believed. The findings could impact the development of technologies used in the study of conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and other nervous system disorders.
Two-photon processes typically require high-intensity light, which can damage or bleach biological samples. Earlier suggestions and demonstrations had shown that entangled photon pairs could reduce the need for such intensity, thereby preventing sample degradation. However, the accepted view was that this form of quantum enhancement was only effective at very low light intensities, limiting its practical use.
The new study, involving researchers from Strathclyde, the University of Glasgow, Università dell’Insubria in Como, and Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie del CNR in Milan, found evidence that quantum enhancement could be maintained at light levels nearly ten times higher than previously recorded. The work has been published in Science Advances.
Dr Lucia Caspani, the lead researcher and a former Senior Lecturer at the University of Strathclyde’s Institute of Photonics, now a Visiting Researcher, said,
“We have been able to demonstrate that quantum effects can still provide an advantage well beyond the level of low intensity. This could significantly expand the role of quantum light in applied technologies, notably within the field of biosensing.”
She added, “Our research could lay the groundwork for the next generation of quantum-enhanced sensing approaches.”
The research team conducted both theoretical and experimental investigations into two-photon absorption processes and compared results using quantum light with those using classical (non-quantum) light.
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