Noise-Free Amplification: Towards Quantum Laser Radar

The architecture of a Quantum Imaging LADAR is shown in Fig. 1. Without the elements depicted by dashed lines, it is equivalent to current state-ofthe-art JIGSAW LADAR [1], where 3D pictures (2 transverse dimensions + time-of-flight information) of the target are collected from different points to permit foliage cover penetration. In the quantum configuration, a Quantum Image Enhancer (QIE) is added between the light-collecting optics and the detector array and is supplied with an optical reference beam from the transmitter. QIE operation, detailed below, leads to two independent mechanisms of resolution improvement: a) quantum enhancement of highspatial-frequency content and b) quantum recovery of information lost by the detector array.