Relationship between resolution enhancement and multiphoton absorption rate in quantum lithography

The proposal of quantum lithography [ Boto et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 85 2733 (2000)] is studied via a rigorous formalism. It is shown that, contrary to Boto et al.’s heuristic claim, the multiphoton absorption rate of a (∣N,0⟩+∣0,N⟩) quantum state is actually lower than that of a classical state with otherwise identical parameters. The proof-of-concept experiment of quantum lithography [ D’Angelo et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 87 013602 (2001)] is also analyzed in terms of the proposed formalism, and the experiment is shown to have a reduced multiphoton absorption rate in order to emulate quantum lithography accurately. Finally, quantum lithography by the use of a jointly Gaussian quantum state of light is investigated to illustrate the trade-off between resolution enhancement and multiphoton absorption rate.