Differentially-Enhanced Sideband Imaging via Radio-frequency Encoding

TL;DR

This paper introduces DESIRE, a high-sensitivity microscopy method that uses RF heterodyne detection and frequency-to-space mapping to encode and image objects via RF sidebands, demonstrated with a 15 GHz phase modulation setup.

Contribution

It presents a novel imaging technique combining optical amplification, RF encoding, and spectral scanning for enhanced differential interference imaging.

Findings

Successful validation with a barcode-like object

Implementation of 15 GHz RF phase modulation

Effective encoding of images onto RF sidebands

Abstract

We present a microscope paradigm that performs differential interference imaging with high sensitivity via optical amplification and radio-frequency (RF) heterodyne detection. This method, termed differentially-enhanced sideband imaging via radio-frequency encoding (DESIRE), uniquely exploits frequency-to-space mapping technique to encode the image of an object onto the RF sidebands of an illumination beam. As a proof-of-concept, we show validation experiment by implementing radio frequency (f = 15 GHz) phase modulation in conjunction with spectrally-encoded laser scanning technique to acquire one-dimensional image of a barcode-like object using a commercial RF spectrum analyzer.