Enhancing the sensitivity and robustness of label-free imaging systems via stimulated Raman adiabatic passage

We show that the sensitivity and robustness of a label-free optical imaging technique based on stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) can be enhanced by using resonant optical transitions in a Raman adiabatic passage scheme. Our approach is based on the consideration that any enhancement of the flow of energy between two light beams involved in the SRS process is related to an increase in atomic population transfer between the energy levels of interest. One can thus profit from techniques developed in quantum optics to maximize such atomic population transfer for enhancing the sensitivity and robustness of optical imaging techniques. (paper)