High-speed 2D and 3D mid-IR imaging with an InGaAs camera

TL;DR

This paper presents a high-speed mid-infrared imaging technique using InGaAs cameras, enabling rapid 2D and 3D imaging at up to 500 fps by leveraging the material's high nonlinear absorption coefficient.

Contribution

The study introduces the use of InGaAs as a photosensor for MIR imaging, overcoming silicon's limitations and achieving faster imaging speeds.

Findings

Achieved MIR imaging at 500 fps

Demonstrated 2D and 3D mapping capabilities

Enabled high-speed imaging with under 1 ms exposure

Abstract

Recent work on mid-infrared (MIR) detection through the process of non-degenerate two-photon absorption (NTA) in semiconducting materials has shown that wide-field MIR imaging can be achieved with standard Si cameras. While this approach enables MIR imaging at high pixel densities, the low nonlinear absorption coefficient of Si prevents fast NTA-based imaging at lower illumination doses. Here we overcome this limitation by using InGaAs as the photosensor. Taking advantage of the much higher nonlinear absorption coefficient of this direct bandgap semiconductor, we demonstrate high-speed MIR imaging up to 500 fps with under 1 ms exposure per frame, enabling 2D or 3D mapping without pre- or post-processing of the image.