High resolution and sensitivity up-conversion mid-infrared photon-counting LIDAR

Abstract

A single-photon-counting mid-infrared LIDAR is presented. 2.4 µm mid-infrared photons were up-converted to 737 nm by intra-cavity mixing in a periodically poled rubidium-doped K T i O P O 4 crystal inside a N d : Y V O 4 laser. The up-converted photons were detected by a Si single-photon avalanche photodiode (SPAD). A temporal resolution of 42 ps and a dark count rate of 500 Hz were achieved, limited by the SPAD and ambient light leakage. It allowed for detection of two targets separated by only a few millimeters. This technique is easily extendable to longer wavelengths, limited primarily by the nonlinear crystal transparency.

Advances in Mid-Infrared Single-Photon Detection

“…For lidar, VIS-NIR single-photon avalanche photodiodes with high temporal resolutions are commonly used for the detection of very weak optical pulses. The extension of lidar to the MIR [4,24] allows gas concentration measurements in the molecular fingerprint region [25], as well as higher transmission through scattering media, such as fog and smog [26]. The emergence of MIR SPDs is encouraging the extension of the fluorescence imaging technique, realized in the NIR second region band exploiting superconductive single-photon detectors [27,28], to new MIR fluorescence spectroscopy schemes, with all its countless applications, such as monitoring volcanos, infrared chemiluminescence, thermal microscopy, and infrared telescopy [6].…”

“…In particular, on the one hand, advances in materials sciences are supporting quantum experiments. On the other hand, groundbreaking results in quantum communication, quantum computing and simulation [1][2][3], quantum sensing [4][5][6][7][8], and metrology [9,10] drive technological development useful for the public at large. Moreover, the interest in quantum experiments in the mid-infrared (MIR) range is rising [11][12][13][14], and consequently, there is a demand for high-performance photonic components in this spectral region.…”

Mid-infrared single-pixel imaging at the single-photon level

“…Mid-infrared (MIR) imaging becomes a key enabler of great scientific and technical interest in a variety of applications, such as biomedical diagnosis, defect inspection, molecular spectroscopy, and remote sensing 1,2 . In these envisioned scenarios, sensitive MIR response is highly demanded to access dramatically improved performances in terms of detection sensitivity, working distance, or noninvasive capability [3][4][5] , which is particularly pertinent to low-photon-flux contexts, for instance, trace characterization of photosensitive materials, penetration imaging through scattering media, and phototoxicity-free examination for biological samples. However, the imperious call for highly sensitive MIR imagers challenges conventional focal plane arrays (FPAs) that still face several technical limitations including high dark noise, low pixel count, and thermal susceptibility 6,7 .…”