Single-photon sensitive light-in-flight imaging

TY - JOUR

T1 - Single-photon sensitive light-in-flight imaging

AU - Gariepy, Genevieve

AU - Krstajić, Nikola

AU - Henderson, Robert

AU - Li, Chunyong

AU - Thomson, Robert R

AU - Buller, Gerald S

AU - Heshmat, Barmak

AU - Raskar, Ramesh

AU - Leach, Jonathan

AU - Faccio, Daniele

N1 - We acknowledge support from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013)/ERC GA 306559, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC, UK, Grants EP/J00443X/1, EP/K03197X/1, EP/K015338), UK-STFC (grant ST/H005595/1), USAR Laboratory and USAR Office through the ISN (contract number W9911NF-13-D-0001) and ST Microelectronics, Imaging Division, Edinburgh, for their support in the manufacture of the Megaframe chip. The Megaframe project has been supported by the European Community within the Sixth Framework Programme IST FET Open.

PY - 2015/1/27

Y1 - 2015/1/27

N2 - The ability to record images with extreme temporal resolution enables a diverse range of applications, such as fluorescence lifetime imaging, time-of-flight depth imaging and characterization of ultrafast processes. Recently, ultrafast imaging schemes have emerged, which require either long acquisition times or raster scanning and have a requirement for sufficient signal that can only be achieved when light is reflected off an object or diffused by a strongly scattering medium. Here we present a demonstration of the potential of single-photon detector arrays for visualization and rapid characterization of events evolving on picosecond time scales. The single-photon sensitivity, temporal resolution and full-field imaging capability enables the observation of light-in-flight in air, as well as the measurement of laser-induced plasma formation and dynamics in its natural environment. The extreme sensitivity and short acquisition times pave the way for real-time imaging of ultrafast processes or visualization and tracking of objects hidden from view.

AB - The ability to record images with extreme temporal resolution enables a diverse range of applications, such as fluorescence lifetime imaging, time-of-flight depth imaging and characterization of ultrafast processes. Recently, ultrafast imaging schemes have emerged, which require either long acquisition times or raster scanning and have a requirement for sufficient signal that can only be achieved when light is reflected off an object or diffused by a strongly scattering medium. Here we present a demonstration of the potential of single-photon detector arrays for visualization and rapid characterization of events evolving on picosecond time scales. The single-photon sensitivity, temporal resolution and full-field imaging capability enables the observation of light-in-flight in air, as well as the measurement of laser-induced plasma formation and dynamics in its natural environment. The extreme sensitivity and short acquisition times pave the way for real-time imaging of ultrafast processes or visualization and tracking of objects hidden from view.

KW - ultrafast optical imaging

KW - CMOS SPADs

KW - photon counting

KW - TCSPC

U2 - 10.1038/ncomms7021

DO - 10.1038/ncomms7021

M3 - Article

C2 - 25626147

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 6

SP - 1

EP - 7

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

M1 - 6021

ER -