A weak infrared (IR) image amplifier with more than 60-dB optical gain and is developed from a picosecond (PS) 355-nm pumped gated optical parametric frequency up-conversion amplifier (OPA) in a/% BaB204 (BBO)...A weak infrared (IR) image amplifier with more than 60-dB optical gain and is developed from a picosecond (PS) 355-nm pumped gated optical parametric frequency up-conversion amplifier (OPA) in a/% BaB204 (BBO) crystal. The IR image at 1064 nm is amplified and up-converted into the visible region at 532 nm by parametric amplification and up-conversion. With the optimized optical gain, the lowest detectable energy of the image can be as low as 1.8 femto-Joule per pulse, which is three orders of magnitude lower than the detection limit of a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. The transversal resolution of the OPA imaging is investigated, and the approaches for higher detection sensitivity and higher transversal resolution are proposed.展开更多
基金supported by the State Key Program for Basic Research of China(No.2010CB630706)the Knowledge Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘A weak infrared (IR) image amplifier with more than 60-dB optical gain and is developed from a picosecond (PS) 355-nm pumped gated optical parametric frequency up-conversion amplifier (OPA) in a/% BaB204 (BBO) crystal. The IR image at 1064 nm is amplified and up-converted into the visible region at 532 nm by parametric amplification and up-conversion. With the optimized optical gain, the lowest detectable energy of the image can be as low as 1.8 femto-Joule per pulse, which is three orders of magnitude lower than the detection limit of a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. The transversal resolution of the OPA imaging is investigated, and the approaches for higher detection sensitivity and higher transversal resolution are proposed.