Three-dimensional optical imaging of semi-transparent and opaque objects using ultrashort light pulses, a streak camera and a coherent fiber bundle
US5142372A · kind A · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 8, 1990 |
| Grant date | Aug 25, 1992 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 8, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N23/00
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus for producing a 3-dimensional image of semi-transparent object or of a opaque object in a semi-transparent media includes a picosecond or a femtosecond laser, a streak camera, a coherent fiber bundle, a video camera and a computer. The apparatus provides a unique nondestructive and non-invasive diagnostic way for detecting, for example, objects hidden in semi-opaque media. The laser is used to produce an ultrashort light pulse. The coherent fiber bundle is used to convert the 2-dim spatial image that is produced (i.e. scattered or fluorescence light from a 3-dim object illuminated with the ultrashort laser pulse) into a 1-dim line image which is fed into the input slit of the streak camera and then time resolved by the streak camera. The video camera is used to record the 2-dim output (1-dim from input image and 1-dim of the streak time) from the streak camera. The output of the video camera is fed into the computer. In the computer 2-dim data elements are reconstructed into a 3-dim image and then displayed on a monitor. This apparatus essentially converts a streak camera into the equivalent of a framing camera with continuous time imaging capability.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.