Quantum ellipsometry

Summary form only given. We show that, by employing entangled-photon pairs that are generated by type II spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in a non-collinear configuration, one can obtain absolute ellipsometric data from a reflective sample. The underlying physics that permits such ellipsometric measurements resides in the fact that fourth-order (coincidence) quantum interference of the photon pairs, in conjunction with polarization entanglement, emulates an idealized classical ellipsometric setup that utilizes a source and a detector that are both calibrated absolutely.