Arts & Sciences Events
[PAST EVENT] Savannah Lea Cuozzo: Physics Dissertation Defense
Savannah Lea Cuozzo , Final Oral Examination for the Ph.D. Degree, Title: "Quantum Sensing for Low-Light Imaging"
Abstract: In high-precision optical measurements, noise due to quantum fluctuations in the amplitude and phase of the probing field becomes the limiting factor in detection sensitivity. While this quantum noise is fundamental and not a result of detection, it is possible to engineer a quantum state that has reduced noise in either amplitude of phase (at the cost of increasing noise in the other) called a quadrature-squeezed state. In this dissertation, we study the use of quadrature-squeezed vacuum states for low-light imaging and develop a quantum detection method to measure the spatial dependence of the quantum noise using a camera instead of the traditional homodyne detection. Our novel quantum-based imaging scheme paves the way for ultra-low-light imaging due to the inherently few photons in the squeezed vacuum state. We also expand the method beyond camera limitations using single-pixel imaging techniques, making the detection method accessible to a broad range of wavelengths where quantum-limited cameras may be difficult to find.
Bio: Savannah was born and raised in Tampa, FL. Upon graduating high school in 2014, Savannah decided to pursue a career in physics. She attended the University of South Florida for her undergraduate studies where she completed a B.S. in physics and B.A. in mathematics. Savannah chose to pursue a Ph.D. in physics in the fall of 2017 at William & Mary, in Williamsburg, VA and conducted research in the field of experimental quantum optics which focused on developing quantum-enabled low-light imaging schemes.