Quantum imaging for improved visualization of the natural world

The year 2025 marks the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, celebrating the centenary of the foundational development of quantum mechanics. To commemorate this milestone, Quantum Device Research Consortium organize a lecture series highlighting groundbreaking advancements in quantum science and engineering. We are excited to announce the second lecture in the series, featuring Professor Kishan Dholakia from the University of Adelaide.

Light-based imaging has become indispensable in many areas of science. Modern imaging is focused largely on the principles of classical light based on electromagnetic wave propagation. This has been most successful with many ground-breaking advances including imaging at depth through scattering media, super-resolution imaging and incredible advances in astronomy. There is now a steer to see how quantum principles can enhance our visualisation of the natural world and beyond. Using quantum principles may allow us supersede classical approaches in terms of parameters such as noise, and even realise original imaging modalities. This talk will give an introduction to imaging focusing on classical advances and exploring the routes by which quantum approaches may add real value to this field. We will discuss nonclassical properties of sources, including squeezed light and entangled photons as well as new advanced camera architectures. We will describe how all these may be employed across various optical imaging systems, with a particular focus on biomedical imaging.