Witnessing the survival of time-energy entanglement through biological tissue and scattering media

Abstract

We demonstrate the preservation of the time-energy entanglement of near-IR photons through thick biological media (≤1.55 mm) and tissue (≤ 235 μ m) at room temperature. Using a Franson-type interferometer, we demonstrate interferometric contrast of over 0.9 in skim milk, 2% milk, and chicken tissue. This work supports the many proposed opportunities for nonclassical light in biological imaging and analyses from sub-shot noise measurements to entanglement-enhanced fluorescence imaging, clearly indicating that the entanglement characteristics of photons can be maintained even after propagation through thick, turbid biological samples.