Enhancing image contrast using coherent states and photon number resolving detectors.
We experimentally map the transverse profile of diffractionlimited beams using photon-number-resolving detectors.We observe strong compression of diffracted beam profiles for high detected photon number. This effect leads to higher contrast than a conventional irradiance profile between two Airy disk-beams separated by the Rayleigh criterion.
Pearlman
A J
AJ
Joint Quantum Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Ling
A
A
Goldschmidt
E A
EA
Wildfeuer
C F
CF
Fan
J
J
Migdall
A
A
D000465:Algorithms; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D010783:Photometry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D017785:Photons