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  • Open Access

Optical Sensing near the Quantum Limit with Enhanced Dynamic Range by Resolving the Spectra of Interfering Photons

Russell M. J. Brooks1, Luca Maggio2, Thomas Jaeken1, Joseph Ho1, Erik M. Gauger1, Vincenzo Tamma2, and Alessandro Fedrizzi1,*

  • 1Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, United Kingdom
  • 2School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3QL, United Kingdom

  • *Contact author: A.Fedrizzi@hw.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 060803 – Published 9 February, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/6xy6-c2yd

Abstract

Optical sensing schemes based on two-photon interference offer a powerful platform for precision metrology, but are usually limited by a trade-off between dynamic range and measurement precision. Here, we overcome this limitation by resolving the frequency of two photons impinging on a beam splitter and combining these measurements with a new estimation strategy. This increases the usable dynamic range by up to a factor of 20 compared with conventional frequency nonresolved schemes. We implement the method with independent photon pair sources and characterize its performance in the presence of finite-resolution frequency-resolved detectors, which approach the quantum limit in the lossless regime. Our approach enables scan-free, nanometer resolution depth sensing over millimeter scale distances, with potential applications in biological and nanomaterial imaging.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 060803– Published 9 February, 2026
  • Received 9 October 2025
  • Revised 16 December 2025
  • Accepted 20 January 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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