Scientists have created an extremely fast scientific camera that captures images at an encoding rate of 156.3 THz for individual pixels, equivalent to 156.3 trillion frames per second. The research-grade SCARF (swept-coded aperture real-time femtophotography) camera could lead to a breakthrough in the study of micro-events that appear and disappear too quickly for current scientific sensors.
The SCARF camera has already successfully captured ultrafast events such as absorption in a semiconductor and demagnetization of a metal alloy. The research could open up new frontiers in areas such as shock wave mechanics or the development of more effective medical solutions.
The research team was led by Professor Jinyan Liang of the Canadian National Institutes of Health Research (INRS). He is an internationally recognized expert in ultrafast photography who built on his discoveries from a separate study 6 years ago.
Prof. Liang and his group prepared the study as a new way of looking at ultrafast cameras. Typically, these systems use a sequential approach: they take frames one at a time and stitch them together to observe moving objects. But this approach has limitations.
«For example, phenomena such as femtosecond laser ablation, shock wave interaction with living cells, and optical chaos cannot be studied in this way,» Liang said.
The new SCARF camera builds on Liang’s previous research to change the logic of the traditional ultrafast camera.
«Its imaging modality allows ultrafast switching of the static encoded aperture without disturbing the ultrafast phenomenon. This enables full sequence encoding rates of up to 156.3 THz for individual pixels on a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. These results can be obtained in a single frame with adjustable frame rate and spatial scale in both reflection and transmission» modes.
In other words, the camera uses the computational image modality to capture spatial information by allowing light to enter its sensor at a slightly different time. Not having to process the spatial data at this point frees up the camera to capture these extremely fast laser pulses at up to 156.3 trillion times per second. The raw image data can then be processed using a computer algorithm that decodes the input data in a staggered fashion, turning each of the trillions of frames into a complete image.
It is noteworthy that these results were achieved by «using off-the-shelf and passive optical components». The team describes SCARF as a low-cost method with low power consumption and high measurement quality compared to existing methods.
Source: Engadget