Quantum Sensing of Birefringence Beyond the Classical Limit with a Hyper-Entangled SU(1,1) Interferometer

Abstract: Quantum interferometric sensing plays a crucial role in a wide range of applications, including quantum metrology, quantum imaging, and quantum lithography, where minute phase shifts carry valuable physical information. The strength of quantum sensing lies in surpassing classical sensitivity limits, particularly through the use of quantum entanglement and squeezing to suppress optical shot noise. Birefringence sensing is crucial for various applications, as it provides detailed information about the material's structure, stress, composition, and environmental conditions. We present an interferometric scheme for detecting unknown small birefringence beyond the shot-noise limit of sensitivity that leverages the hyper-entanglement within a pair of polarized nonlinear SU(1,1) interferometers, coupled by the birefringence. Specifically, two pairs of crossed-polarization nonlinear media, both generate and measure two-mode quantum light that is squeezed and polarization-entangled. We present a complete theoretical analysis of the interferometer's sensitivity to small birefringence under realistic conditions of gain and internal loss, illuminating the potential for enhancement of the sensitivity by 3-15dB in practical, real-world experiments (the exact achievable enhancement is governed solely by the loss).