Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Mid-infrared photothermal (MIP) measurement probes refractive-index changes induced by mid-infrared (MIR) absorption using visible or near-infrared light and has recently emerged as a powerful modality for MIR spectro-imaging in the life sciences. Reducing measurement noise allows the probe power to be lowered without compromising the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), thereby mitigating the risk of sample damage. However, even in the absence of classical noise, the SNR of conventional MIP measurements using a classical coherent probe is fundamentally limited by shot noise. Here, we demonstrate sub-shot-noise MIP measurement using twin beams generated through seeded optical parametric amplification. Balanced detection of the twin beams suppresses the noise by more than 5 dB below the shot-noise level established using a coherent beam. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, we measure the MIP signal from liquid water using balanced twin-beam detection and achieve an SNR enhancement of more than 2 dB over the balanced coherent-beam detection.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Hashimoto, Kazuki, Ideguchi, Takuro
Language: English
Subfield: Biophysics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7220960890