Theory of parametric upconversion of thermal images

Falk, Joel; Tiffany, William B.

doi:10.1063/1.1661806

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Frequency upconversion of infrared images was already under investigation in the 1960s and 1970s [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] . However, this field of research was virtually abandoned 30 years ago due to the prohibitively low conversion efficiencies.…”

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confidence: 99%

Room-temperature mid-infrared single-photon spectral imaging

2012

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The spectral imaging and detection of mid-infrared wavelengths is emerging as an enabling technology of great technical and scientific interest, primarily because important chemical compounds display unique and strong mid-infrared spectral fingerprints that reveal valuable chemical information. Modern quantum cascade lasers have evolved as ideal coherent mid-infrared excitation sources, but simple, low-noise, room-temperature detectors and imaging systems lag behind. We address this need by presenting a novel, field-deployable, upconversion system for sensitive, two-dimensional, midinfrared spectral imaging. A room-temperature dark noise of 0.2 photons/spatial element/second is measured, which is a billion times below the dark noise level of cryogenically cooled InSb cameras. Single-photon imaging and a resolution of up to 200 3 100 spatial elements are obtained with a record-high continuous-wave quantum efficiency of ∼20% for polarized incoherent light at 3 mm. The proposed method is relevant for existing and new mid-infrared applications such as gas analysis and medical diagnostics.O ptical spectroscopy within the ultraviolet, visible and nearinfrared regimes has for decades been an indispensable method for the identification and quantization of chemical analytes. However, emerging mid-infrared applications in environmental gas monitoring or the life sciences call for improved detection systems that challenge today's capabilities in terms of sensitivity and/or imaging functionality. For example, in the face of global warming, mid-infrared detectors capable of measuring minute gas concentrations are required, because important greenhouse gases such as CO 2 , CO, CH 4 and N 2 O have fundamental absorption bands located in the mid-infrared 1 . For example, CO requires a detection sensitivity on the order of 100 ppb (parts per billion) 2 . Monitoring atmospheric trace molecules at these levels provides important inputs for the climate models used for studying global warming and its consequences for life on Earth 3 . In life science, the spectral regime from 0.3 to 2 mm has already been utilized for fundamental studies of breath analysis. However, significant improvements can be expected from using mid-infrared spectroscopy 4,5 . The on-line detection of the numerous different molecules (.1,000) in exhaled human breath may lead to new non-invasive diagnostics tool for doctors. However, such biomarkers are frequently below ppb levels. Indeed, the exhaled concentration of ethane (at 3.3 mm), which is used as a marker for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is found at 100 ppt (parts per trillion) levels, clearly demonstrating the requirement for highly sensitive methods 5 . Similarly, 1-butanol and 3-hydroxy-2-butanone in breath could be useful biomarkers for lung cancer 6 .In the 3-15 mm wavelength regions, two-dimensional mid-infrared spectral imaging demonstrates potential for identifying cancerous tissue, providing a new tool for cancer diagnostics. In this wavelength region, each organic compound an...

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confidence: 99%

Room-temperature mid-infrared single-photon spectral imaging

2012

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“…Most work has been based on lithium niobate (LN) as the nonlinear medium, using either bulk [9][10][11] or periodically poled [12][13][14][15][16][17] crystals, however, applications of LN is limited by the transparency range of the material. Above 5 µm upconversion spectroscopy [18] and polychromatic imaging [19,20] has been demonstrated based on Ag3AsS3 or AgGaS 2 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mid-infrared upconversion based hyperspectral imaging

Junaid¹,

Tomko²,

Semtsiv³

et al. 2018

Opt. Express

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Mid-infrared hyperspectral imaging has in the past decade emerged as a promising tool for medical diagnostics. In this work, nonlinear frequency upconversion based hyperspectral imaging in the 6 to 8 µm spectral range is presented for the first time, using both broadband globar and narrowband quantum cascade laser illumination. AgGaS is used as the nonlinear medium for sum frequency generation using a 1064 nm mixing laser. Angular scanning of the nonlinear crystal provides broad spectral coverage at every spatial position in the image. This study demonstrates the retrieval of series of monochromatic images acquired by a silicon based CCD camera, using both broadband and narrowband illumination and a comparison is made between the two illumination sources for hyperspectral imaging.

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“…In the 1970's several papers describing the theory of image upconversion were published [5][6][7][8][9]. In those papers the theory for upconversion of incoherent light images was presented in a very complex and general formulation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theory for upconversion of incoherent images

2012

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Upconversion of images is a generic method for shifting the spectral content of entire images. A comprehensive theory for upconversion of incoherent light images is presented and compared against experiments. In particular we consider the important case for upconversion of infinity corrected light. We show that the spatial resolution for upconversion of incoherent light images is better than for the corresponding coherent image upconversion case. The fundamental differences between upconversion of coherent and incoherent images are investigated theoretically and experimentally. The theory includes the general case of upconversion using TEM nm modes.

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Theory of parametric upconversion of thermal images

Cited by 16 publications

References 20 publications

Room-temperature mid-infrared single-photon spectral imaging

Room-temperature mid-infrared single-photon spectral imaging

Mid-infrared upconversion based hyperspectral imaging

Theory for upconversion of incoherent images

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