Microscopy with undetected photons in the mid-infrared

Owing to its capacity for unique (bio)-chemical specificity, microscopy withmid-IR illumination holds tremendous promise for a wide range of biomedical and industrial applications. The primary limitation, however, remains detection; with current mid-IR detection technology often marrying inferior technical capabilities with prohibitive costs. This has lead to approaches that shift detection towavelengths into the visible regime, where vastly superior silicon-based cameratechnology is available. Here, we experimentally show how nonlinear interferometry with entangled light can provide a powerful tool for mid-IR microscopy, while only requiring near-infrared detection with a standard CMOS camera. In this proof-of-principle implementation, we demonstrate intensity imaging overa broad wavelength range covering 3.4-4.3um and demonstrate a spatial resolution of 35um for images containing 650 resolved elements. Moreover, we demonstrate our technique is fit for purpose, acquiring microscopic images of biological tissue samples in the mid-IR. These results open a new perspective for potential relevance of quantum imaging techniques in the life sciences.

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