Quantum-enhanced super-resolution bioimaging: breaking the diffraction barrier with entangled photons

Entangled photons enable quantum imaging to surpass classical limits in resolution and noise. To address long-standing challenges in quantum imaging (such as low signal-to-noise, limited resolvable pixels, and difficulty imaging biological samples), we present imaging by coincidence from entanglement (ICE). ICE leverages spatial and polarization entanglement to enhance resolution, support biological imaging, and quantify birefringence properties. Polarization entanglement enables remote, quantitative measurement of both phase retardation and principal axis orientation without changing input polarization. ICE achieves up to 25-fold stray light suppression relative to classical imaging. We further introduce wide-field quantum microscopy by coincidence (QMC) using symmetric, balanced paths to achieve Heisenberg-limited super-resolution, with up to 155-fold suppression of stray light and improved speed and contrast-to-noise ratio. Together, QMC and ICE represent significant advances in quantum bioimaging, offering low-light, high-resolution, and noninvasive imaging capabilities with potential impact in life sciences and remote sensing.