Over the past century, scientists have tried to find the minimum number of photons that is required to evoke a visual response of humans. Us- ing single-photon sources, researchers found that...Show moreOver the past century, scientists have tried to find the minimum number of photons that is required to evoke a visual response of humans. Us- ing single-photon sources, researchers found that humans most likely can indeed detect single photons with an above-chance probability. In this project, an experimental setup is developed towards firstly using quan- tum detector tomography to determine the accuracy of the human eye to observe few-photon number states. The setup contains two optical beams, one to fixate the eye of the subject and one to target the photons at the proper area of the retina. The focus position and beam divergence are determined with three different methods. Additionally, simulations of the eye show that reliable experiments on humans can be conducted using the devised setup. First tests with humans show that the setup fulfils the re- quirements and we can reliably target the desired spots on the retina. It is further shown that both the head and the orientation of the eye are stable enough to perform reliable experiments using human observation.Show less
This thesis gives insight into two photon quantum interference effects in quantum optics, with Hong-Ou-Mandel visibility detection. This is studied using a delay loop with different light...Show moreThis thesis gives insight into two photon quantum interference effects in quantum optics, with Hong-Ou-Mandel visibility detection. This is studied using a delay loop with different light polarizations. The single photons are created by exciting a quantum dot in a microcavity with a continuous-wave laser. We try to relate experimental results of the second order correlation function to a theoretical analysis of the obtained photon states in the system. As a result an insight into the creation of highly entangled qubit states, called cluster states, is given.Show less
