Attosecond-Resolution Hong-Ou-Mandel Interferometry

Abstract

When two indistinguishable photons are each incident on separate input ports of a beamsplitter they `bunch' deterministically, exiting via the same port as a direct consequence of their bosonic nature. This two-photon interference effect has long-held the potential for application in precision measurement of time delays, such as those induced by transparent specimens with unknown thickness profiles. However, the technique has never achieved resolutions significantly better than the few femtosecond (micron)-scale other than in a common-path geometry that severely limits applications. Here we develop the precision of HOM interferometry towards the ultimate limits dictated by statistical estimation theory, achieving few-attosecond (or nanometre path length) scale resolutions in a dual-arm geometry, thus providing access to length scales pertinent to cell biology and mono-atomic layer 2D materials.