A non-degenerate optical parametric oscillator as a high-flux source for quantum lithography

We investigate the use of a non-degenerate parametric oscillator (NDPO) as a source for quantum lithography, for which the light can have high-flux and strong non-classical features. This builds on the proposal of Boto, et al. [A. N. Boto, et al., PRL (85), 2733 (2000)], for etching simple patterns on multi-photon absorbing materials with sub-Rayleigh resolution, using special two-mode entangled states of light. An NDPO has two outgoing modes differentiated by polarization or direction of propagation, but sharing the same optical frequency. We derive analytical expressions for the multi-photon absorption rates when the NDPO is operated below, near, and above its threshold. The resulting interference patterns are characterized by an effective wavelength half that for the illuminating modes. We compare our results with those for the case of a high-gain optical amplifier source, and discuss the relative merit of the NDPO.

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