Shot Noise Limited Performance Research Articles

A dual-channel visible light optical coherence tomography system enables wide-field, full-range, and shot-noise limited human retinal imaging

Visible light optical coherence tomography (VIS-OCT) is an emerging ophthalmic imaging method featuring ultrahigh depth resolution, retinal microvascular oximetry, and distinct scattering contrast in the visible spectral range. The clinical utility of VIS-OCT is hampered by the fundamental trade-off between the imaging depth range and axial resolution, which are determined by the spectral resolution and bandwidth, respectively. To address this trade-off, here we developed a dual-channel VIS-OCT system with three major advancements including the first linear-in-K VIS-OCT spectrometer to decrease the roll-off, reference pathlength modulation to expand the imaging depth range, and per-A-line noise cancellation to remove excess noise, Due to these unique designs, this system achieves 7.2 dB roll-off over the full 1.74 mm depth range (water) with shot-noise limited performance. The system uniquely enables >60° wide-field imaging which would allow simultaneous imaging of the peripheral retina and optic nerve head, as well as ultrahigh 1.3 µm depth resolution (water). Benefiting from the additional near-infrared (NIR) channel of the dual-channel design, this system is compatible with Doppler OCT and OCT angiography (OCTA). The comprehensive structure-function measurement enabled by this dual-channel VIS-OCT system is an advance towards adoption of VIS-OCT in clinical applications.

MEMS Modulator-Based Mid-Infrared Laser Heterodyne Radiometer for Atmospheric Remote Sensing

The performance of a mid-infrared laser heterodyne radiometer (MIR-LHR) based on a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) mirror is demonstrated in ground-based solar occultation mode. A MEMS mirror is employed as an alternative modulator to the traditional mechanical chopper. High-resolution (∼0.0024 cm−1) transmission spectrum near 3.93 μm was obtained for atmospheric observation of N2O absorption. Operation of the MIR-LHR with laser-induced shot-noise limited performance was analyzed and experimentally achieved. The laser heterodyne spectrum obtained is consistent with Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer and atmospheric transmission modeling. Compared to the traditional chopper, the MEMS mirror is smaller, lighter and lower power consumption which makes the system more stable and compact. The reported MIR-LHR in this article has great potential in aircraft instruments and satellite payloads.

Online adaptive quantum characterization of a nuclear spin

The characterization of quantum systems is both a theoretical and technical challenge. Theoretical because of the exponentially increasing complexity with system size and the fragility of quantum states under observation. Technical because of the requirement to manipulate and read out individual atomic or photonic elements. Adaptive methods can help to overcome these challenges by optimizing the amount of information each measurement provides and reducing the necessary resources. Their implementation, however, requires fast-feedback and complex processing algorithms. Here, we implement online adaptive sensing with single spins and demonstrate close to photon shot noise limited performance with high repetition rate, including experimental overheads. We further use fast feedback to determine the hyperfine coupling of a nuclear spin to the nitrogen-vacancy sensor with a sensitivity of 445,{mathrm{nT}}{sqrt{mathrm{Hz}}}^{- 1}. Our experiment is a proof of concept that online adaptive techniques can be a versatile tool to enable faster characterization of the spin environment.

Noise cancellation of white pulsed light with pulse-to-pulse observation of probe and reference pulses in spectral pump/probe measurement

In pump/probe spectroscopy employing supercontinuum (SC) probe light (Pr), multi-wavelength information is provided at the same time. The SC probe generated by a photonic crystal fiber is advantageous owing to the broad spectrum and synchronized timings of the SC Pr pulse and pump pulse. However, SC light accompanies formidable wavelength dependent noise due to the various contributions of generation mechanisms. We previously developed two noise cancellation methodologies suitable for multiwavelength measurements with SC light, that is, phase detection noise cancellation (PDNC) and time division noise cancellation (TDNC), where the pulse timings for Pr and reference (Rf) are time-shifted and detected by a single photodiode (PD) after passing through the common optical system, providing an identical spectral dispersion to conserve the wavelength-dependent noise correlation. In PDNC, Pr and Rf are discriminated based on the pulse repetition phase, and the Pr is then divided by Rf, whereas in TDNC they are distinguished by the detection time, and Rf is subtracted from Pr. However, a shot noise limited performance with high-power input has yet to be realized. In this study, the deterioration mechanisms for PDNC and TDNC are investigated. The nonlinear effect of the photodetector was found to have a non-negligible impact on the phase noise and intensity noise correlation between Pr and Rf. Adequate decay of the photocurrent of Pr at the detection of the Rf optical pulse is effective for avoiding nonlinearity and maintaining the noise correlation of Pr and Rf for the best noise cancellation. Based on this fact, a near-shot-noise-limited performance is demonstrated by the TDNC, where the Rf optical pulse is incident on the PD after sufficient relaxation of the Pr photocurrent. In addition, the coincidence of the timing of Pr and Rf for the noise subtraction was found to be essential for wideband noise cancellation.

Silicon photonics interfaced with integrated electronics for 9 GHz measurement of squeezed light

Photonic quantum technology can be enhanced by monolithic fabrication of both the underpinning quantum hardware and the corresponding electronics for classical readout and control. Together, this enables miniaturisation and mass-manufacture of small quantum devices---such as quantum communication nodes, quantum sensors and sources of randomness---and promises the precision and scale of fabrication required to assemble useful quantum computers. Here we combine CMOS compatible silicon and germanium-on-silicon nano-photonics with silicon-germanium integrated amplification electronics to improve performance of on-chip homodyne detection of quantum light. We observe a 3 dB bandwidth of 1.7 GHz, shot-noise limited performance beyond 9 GHz and minaturise the required footprint to 0.84 mm. We use the device to observe quantum squeezed light, from 100 MHz to 9 GHz, generated in a lithium niobate waveguide. This demonstrates that an all-integrated approach yields faster homodyne detectors for quantum technology than has been achieved to-date and opens the way to full-stack integration of photonic quantum devices.

Amplitude-phase cross talk as a deterioration factor of signal-to-noise ratio in phase-detection noise-cancellation technique for spectral pump/probe measurements and compensation of the amplitude-phase cross talk.

Noise cancellation of the light source is an important method to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and facilitate high-speed detection in pump/probe measurements. We developed a method to eliminate the noise for the multichannel spectral pump/probe measurements with a spectral dispersion of a white probe pulse light. In this method, the sample-induced intensity modulation is converted to the phase modulation of the pulse repetition irrespective of the intensity noise of the light source. The SNR is enhanced through the phase detection of the observed signal with the signal synchronized to the pulse repetition serving as the phase reference (synchronized signal). However, the shot-noise limited performance is not achieved with an intense probe light. In this work, we demonstrate that the performance limitation below the shot noise limit is caused by the amplitude-phase cross talk. It converts the amplitude noise into the phase noise and is caused by the space-charge effect in the photodetector, the reverse bias voltage drop across the load impedance, and the phase detection circuit. The phase delay occurs with an intense light at a PIN photodiode, whereas the phase is advanced in an avalanche photodiode. Although the amplitude distortion characteristics also reduce the performance, the distortion effect is equivalent to the amplitude-phase cross talk. We also propose possible ways to compensate the cross talk effect by using the phase modulation of the synchronized signal for the phase detection based on the instantaneous amplitude.

Demonstration of Shot-noise-limited Swept Source OCT Without Balanced Detection

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been utilized in a rapidly growing number of clinical and scientific applications. In particular, swept source OCT (SS-OCT) has attracted many attentions due to its excellent performance. So far however, the limitations of existing photon detectors have prevented achieving shot-noise-limited sensitivity without using balanced-detection scheme in SS-OCT, even when superconducting single-photon detectors were used. Unfortunately, balanced-detection increases OCT system size and cost, as it requires many additional components to boost the laser power and maintain near ideal balanced performance across the whole optical bandwidth. Here we show for the first time that a photon detector is capable of achieving shot noise limited performance without using the balanced-detection technique in SS-OCT. We built a system using a so-called electron-injection photodetector, with a cutoff-wavelength of 1700 nm. Our system achieves a shot-noise-limited sensitivity of about −105 dB at a reference laser power of ~350 nW, which is more than 30 times lower laser power compared with the best-reported results. The high sensitivity of the electron-injection detector allows utilization of micron-scale tunable laser sources (e.g. VCSEL) and eliminates the need for fiber amplifiers and highly precise couplers, which are an essential part of the conventional SS-OCT systems.

Brillouin optical time-domain reflectometry using up-conversion single-photon detector

A direct-detection Brillouin optical time-domain reflectometry (BOTDR) using an up-conversion photon-counting detector and an all-fiber structure Fabry–Perot scanning interferometer is demonstrated with shot-noise limited performance. Taking advantage of ultra-low noise equivalent power of the up-conversion photon-counting detector and high spectral resolution of the interferometer, the Brillouin spectra along a polarization maintaining fiber (PMF) are analyzed in the optical frequency domain directly. In contrast with heterodyne BOTDR, photon-counting BOTDR has better EM compatibility and faster speed in data processing. In experiments, using peak input power of 20dBm, temperature profile along a 9km PMF is retrieved according to the Brillouin shifts, with spatial/temporal resolution of 2m/15s. The precision is 0.7°C at the leading end and 1.2°C at the trailing end.

Nitric oxide isotopic analyzer based on a compact dual-modulation Faraday rotation spectrometer.

We have developed a transportable spectroscopic nitrogen isotopic analyzer. The spectrometer is based on dual-modulation Faraday rotation spectroscopy of nitric oxide isotopologues with near shot-noise limited performance and baseline-free operation. Noise analysis indicates minor isotope (15NO) detection sensitivity of 0.36 ppbv·Hz−1/2, corresponding to noise-equivalent Faraday rotation angle (NEA) of 1.31 × 10−8 rad·Hz−1/2 and noise-equivalent absorbance (αL)min of 6.27 × 10−8 Hz−1/2. White-noise limited performance at 2.8× the shot-noise limit is observed up to ~1000 s, allowing reliable calibration and sample measurement within the drift-free interval of the spectrometer. Integration with wet-chemistry based on acidic vanadium(III) enables conversion of aqueous nitrate/nitrite samples to gaseous NO for total nitrogen isotope analysis. Isotopic ratiometry is accomplished via time-multiplexed measurements of two NO isotope transitions. For 5 μmol potassium nitrate samples, the instrument consistently yields ratiometric precision below 0.3‰, thus demonstrating potential as an in situ diagnostic tool for environmental nitrogen cycle studies.

Photothermal optical lock-in optical coherence tomography for in vivo imaging.

Photothermal OCT (PTOCT) provides high sensitivity to molecular targets in tissue, and occupies a spatial imaging regime that is attractive for small animal imaging. However, current implementations of PTOCT require extensive temporal sampling, resulting in slow frame rates and a large data burden that limit its in vivo utility. To address these limitations, we have implemented optical lock-in techniques for photothermal optical lock-in OCT (poli-OCT), and demonstrated the in vivo imaging capabilities of this approach. The poli-OCT signal was assessed in tissue-mimicking phantoms containing indocyanine green (ICG), an FDA approved small molecule that has not been previously imaged in vivo with PTOCT. Then, the effects of in vivo blood flow and motion artifact were assessed and attenuated, and in vivo poli-OCT was demonstrated with both ICG and gold nanorods as contrast agents. Experiments revealed that poli-OCT signals agreed with optical lock-in theory and the bio-heat equation, and the system exhibited shot noise limited performance. In phantoms containing biologically relevant concentrations of ICG (1 µg/ml), the poli-OCT signal was significantly greater than control phantoms (p<0.05), demonstrating sensitivity to small molecules. Finally, in vivo poli-OCT of ICG identified the lymphatic vessels in a mouse ear, and also identified low concentrations (200 pM) of gold nanorods in subcutaneous injections at frame rates ten times faster than previously reported. This work illustrates that future in vivo molecular imaging studies could benefit from the improved acquisition and analysis times enabled by poli-OCT.

Squeezed quadrature fluctuations in a gravitational wave detector using squeezed light

Squeezed states of light are an important tool for optical measurements below the shot noise limit and for optical realizations of quantum information systems. Recently, squeezed vacuum states were deployed to enhance the shot noise limited performance of gravitational wave detectors. In most practical implementations of squeezing enhancement, relative fluctuations between the squeezed quadrature angle and the measured quadrature (sometimes called squeezing angle jitter or phase noise) are one limit to the noise reduction that can be achieved. We present calculations of several effects that lead to quadrature fluctuations, and use these estimates to account for the observed quadrature fluctuations in a LIGO gravitational wave detector. We discuss the implications of this work for quantum enhanced advanced detectors and even more sensitive third generation detectors.

Near shot-noise limited hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering spectroscopy using low energy lasers and a fast CMOS array

We demonstrate near shot-noise limited hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) spectroscopy using oscillator-only excitation conditions. Using a fast CMOS camera synchronized to an acousto-optic modulator and subtracting subsequent frames acquired at up to 1 MHz frame rates, we demonstrate demodulation and recovery of the SRS spectrum. Surprisingly, we observe that the signal-to-noise of SRS spectra is invariant at modulation frequencies down to 2.5 kHz. Our approach allows for a direct comparison of SRS with coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectroscopy under identical experimental conditions. Our findings suggest that hyperspectral SRS imaging with shot-noise limited performance at biologically compatible excitation energies is feasible after minor modifications to fast frame-rate CMOS array technology.

Cryogen-free heterodyne-enhanced mid-infrared Faraday rotation spectrometer.

A new detection method for Faraday rotation spectra of paramagnetic molecular species is presented. Near shot-noise limited performance in the mid-infrared is demonstrated using a heterodyne enhanced Faraday rotation spectroscopy (H-FRS) system without any cryogenic cooling. Theoretical analysis is performed to estimate the ultimate sensitivity to polarization rotation for both heterodyne and conventional FRS. Sensing of nitric oxide (NO) has been performed with an H-FRS system based on thermoelectrically cooled 5.24 μm quantum cascade laser (QCL) and a mercury-cadmium-telluride photodetector. The QCL relative intensity noise that dominates at low frequencies is largely avoided by performing the heterodyne detection in radio frequency range. H-FRS exhibits a total noise level of only 3.7 times the fundamental shot noise. The achieved sensitivity to polarization rotation of 1.8 × 10(-8) rad/Hz(1/2) is only 5.6 times higher than the ultimate theoretical sensitivity limit estimated for this system. The path- and bandwidth-normalized NO detection limit of 3.1 ppbv-m/Hz(1/2) was achieved using the R(17/2) transition of NO at 1906.73 cm(-1).

Faraday rotation spectroscopy based on permanent magnets for sensitive detection of oxygen at atmospheric conditions

A low-power Faraday rotation spectroscopy system that uses permanent rare-earth magnets has been developed for detection of O₂ at 762 nm. The experimental signals are generated using laser wavelength modulation combined with a balanced detection scheme that permits quantum shot noise limited performance. A noise equivalent polarization rotation angle of 8 × 10⁻⁸ rad/Hz¹/² is estimated from the experimental noise, and this agrees well with a theoretical model based on Jones calculus. A bandwidth normalized minimum detection limit to oxygen of 6 ppmv/Hz¹/² with an ultimate minimum of 1.3 ppmv at integration times of ~1 minute has been demonstrated.

High-speed camera with real time processing for frequency domain imaging

We describe a high-speed camera system for frequency domain imaging suitable for applications such as in vivo diffuse optical imaging and fluorescence lifetime imaging. 14-bit images are acquired at 2 gigapixels per second and analyzed with real-time pipeline processing using field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Performance of the camera system has been tested both for RF-modulated laser imaging in combination with a gain-modulated image intensifier and a simpler system based upon an LED light source. System amplitude and phase noise are measured and compared against theoretical expressions in the shot noise limit presented for different frequency domain configurations. We show the camera itself is capable of shot noise limited performance for amplitude and phase in as little as 3 ms, and when used in combination with the intensifier the noise levels are nearly shot noise limited. The best phase noise in a single pixel is 0.04 degrees for a 1 s integration time.

Improving the efficiency of optical coherence tomography by using the non-ideal behaviour of a polarising beam splitter

We present a new way of improving the efficiency of optical coherence tomography by using the polarisation crosstalk of a polarising beam splitter to direct most of the available source optical power to the sample. The use of a quarter wave plate in both the reference and the sample arms allows most of the sample power to be directed to the detector while adjusting the reference arm to ensure noise optimised operation. As a result, the sensitivity of such a system can be improved by 6 dB, or alternatively the acquisition time can be improved by a factor of 4 for shot noise limited performance,compared to a traditional OCT configuration using a 50/50 beam splitter.

Sources and technology for an atomic gravitational wave interferometric sensor

We study the use of atom interferometers as detectors for gravitational waves in the mHz–Hz frequency band, which is complementary to planned optical interferometers, such as laser interferometer gravitational wave observatories (LIGOs) and the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). We describe an optimized atomic gravitational wave interferometric sensor (AGIS), whose sensitivity is proportional to the baseline length to power of 5/2, as opposed to the linear scaling of a more conservative design. Technical challenges are briefly discussed, as is a table-top demonstrator AGIS that is presently under construction at Berkeley. We study a range of potential sources of gravitational waves visible to AGIS, including galactic and extra-galactic binaries. Based on the predicted shot noise limited performance, AGIS should be capable of detecting type Ia supernovae precursors within 500 pc, up to 200 years beforehand. An optimized detector may be capable of detecting waves from RX J0806.3+1527.

Design of transmission line driven slot waveguide Mach-Zehnder interferometers and application to analog optical links

Slot waveguides allow joint confinement of the driving electrical radio frequency field and of the optical waveguide mode in a narrow slot, allowing for highly efficient polymer based interferometers. We show that the optical confinement can be simply explained by a perturbation theoretical approach taking into account the continuity of the electric displacement field. We design phase matched transmission lines and show that their impedance and RF losses can be modeled by an equivalent circuit and linked to slot waveguide properties by a simple set of equations, thus allowing optimization of the device without iterative simulations. We optimize the interferometers for analog optical links and predict record performance metrics (V(pi) = 200 mV @ 10 GHz in push-pull configuration) assuming a modest second order nonlinear coefficient (r(33) = 50 pm/V) and slot width (100 nm). Using high performance optical polymers (r(33) = 150 pm/V), noise figures of state of the art analog optical links can be matched while reducing optical power levels by approximately 30 times. With required optical laser power levels predicted at 50 mW, this could be a game changing improvement by bringing high performance optical analog link power requirements in the reach of laser diodes. A modified transmitter architecture allows shot noise limited performance, while reducing power levels in the slot waveguides and enhancing reliability.

A Shot-Noise Limited Fiber Laser Source by Cascaded Passive Optical Filtering

We present a technique for suppressing relative intensity noise in a fiber laser, which uses two Pound-Drever-Hall feedback control loops to lock two optical fiber ring resonators in series. The resonators act as cascaded passive optical filters to remove high frequency intensity noise. We describe and discuss the control scheme for holding the cavities on resonance, and present the experimental result, demonstrating shot noise limited performance for intensity fluctuations above 2.5 MHz.

High Precision Signal Processing Algorithm for White Light Interferometry.

A new signal processing algorithm for absolute temperature measurement using white light interferometry has been proposed and investigated theoretically. The proposed algorithm determines the phase delay of an interferometer with very high precision (≪ one fringe) by identifying the zero order fringe peak of cross-correlation of two fringe scans of white light interferometer. The algorithm features cross-correlation of interferometer fringe scans, hypothesis testing and fine tuning. The hypothesis test looks for a zero order fringe peak candidate about which the cross-correlation is symmetric minimizing the uncertainty of mis-identification. Fine tuning provides the proposed algorithm with high precision sub-sample resolution phase delay estimation capability. The shot noise limited performance of the proposed algorithm has been analyzed using computer simulations. Root-mean-square (RMS) phase error of the estimated zero order fringe peak has been calculated for the changes of three different parameters (SNR, fringe scan sample rate, coherence length of light source). Computer simulations showed that the proposed signal processing algorithm identified the zero order fringe peak with a miss rate of 3 × 10-4 at 31 dB SNR and the extrapolated miss rate at 35 dB was 3 × 10-8. Also, at 35 dB SNR, RMS phase error less than 10-3 fringe was obtained. The proposed signal processing algorithm uses a software approach that is potentially inexpensive, simple and fast.