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Quantum holography enhanced by object-uncorrelated photons

Yiqian Yang1,*, Zhixiang Li2,4,*, Zhengzhong Huang1, Andrew Forbes3,†, Liangcai Cao1,‡, Keyu Xia2,4,5,§, and Yanqing Lu2,4,5,‖

  • 1Department of Precision Instruments, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China
  • 2College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023 Jiangsu, China
  • 3School of Physics, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2000, South Africa
  • 4National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093 Jiangsu, China
  • 5Hefei National Laboratory, Hefei, 230088 Anhui, China

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Contact author: andrew.forbes@wits.ac.za
  • ‡Contact author: clc@tsinghua.edu.cn
  • §Contact author: keyu.xia@nju.edu.cn
  • ‖Contact author: yqlu@nju.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. Applied 24, 064077 – Published 31 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/b2hb-7zj5

Abstract

Quantum holography exploits quantum correlation in entangled photon pairs to enhance holography. An inherent principle of holography is that each partial hologram can enhance the reconstruction of the entire object, a property that has not yet been explored in the quantum realm. The current fabrication technology for single-photon detectors is limited, making it extremely challenging to manufacture large-area detectors. Since resolution is directly related to the system aperture, achieving a resolution equivalent to that of a large-area detector under the constraint of a limited detection area is a key challenge for realizing high-resolution quantum holography. Here we demonstrate that the spatial correlations of entangled photons can extract crucial additional information from photon wave packets beyond the boundaries of the experimentally recorded region, where the photons have no direct interaction with the object. We validate the approach experimentally and benchmark it against the approach using only the detection area, achieving the advancements with an increase of up to 15 dB in signal-to-noise ratio and up to approximately tenfold improvement in structural similarity. We show the versatility of the approach by demonstrating significantly improved performance across various objects, including quantum holography of complex biological specimens. This work can advance the nascent field of quantum holography and accelerate its application in life sciences and biological systems.

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Phys. Rev. Applied 24, 064077– Published 31 December, 2025
  • Received 15 April 2025
  • Accepted 10 November 2025
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