Applied optics | 2021
Single-point material recognition by quantum parametric mode sorting and photon counting.
Abstract
We explore an active illumination approach to remote material recognition, based on quantum parametric mode sorting and single-photon detection. By measuring a photon s time of flight at picosecond resolution, 97.8% recognition is demonstrated by illuminating only a single point on the materials. Thanks to the exceptional detection sensitivity and noise rejection, a high recognition accuracy of 96.1% is achieved even when the materials are occluded by a lossy and multiscattering obscurant.