Date of Submission

Spring 2015

Academic Programs and Concentrations

Physics

Project Advisor 1

Paul Cadden-Zimmansky

Project Advisor 2

Matthew Deady

Abstract/Artist's Statement

Quantum optical coherence tomography is a bioimaging technique that takes advantage of the entangled nature of photons to encode information. By sending light through a special crystal, the light is emitted in correlated pairs. Sending those pairs through an interferometer and into a sample material creates a polarization-sensitive spatial map of reflective layers within the material in addition to measuring the dispersive characteris- tics of the layer in between. The coincidence detection rate differs from normal intensity readings by accessing greater depths with the benefit of zero group velocity dispersion, at twice the resolution. This technique could impact bioimaging with further optimization, and particularly influence cancer detection. Apart from being scientifically sneaky—using quantum entanglement— the non-invasiveness makes quantum optical coherence tomog- raphy an attractive model for understanding the ways light interacts with matter and what it can tell us about its nature. This paper seeks to understand the improvements that this process makes upon traditional bioimaging techniques on a fundamental level.

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On-Campus only

Creative Commons License

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