Realizing ultrafast imaging from 2D to quasi 3D

Scientists at Beijing Institute of Technology have first developed an ultrafast quasi-three-dimensional technique, enabling higher dimensions to analyze the ultrafast process, making it a milestone improvement in ultrafast imaging.

The research, published in the journal International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, demonstrates how to achieve three-dimensional characteristic analysis based on integrating two orthogonal imaging perspectives.

"This quasi-three-dimensional imaging method breaks through the limitations of the original observational dimensions, enhancing our ability to analyze ultra-fast processes comprehensively. In the future, it will play a significant role in revealing the interaction between lasers and matter," said Lan Jiang, a Chair Professor at Beijing Institute of Technology, and the corresponding author on the research.

"Using the quasi-three-dimensional imaging method, we can analyze the shape and property changes of ultrafast processes in three-dimensional space," said Yiling Lian, a PhD candidate of Jiang at Beijing Institute of Technology, the first author on the paper.

Observing and regulating microscopic transient processes provides crucial supports for the exploration and discovery of new phenomena, mechanisms, and materials.

To date, pump-probe technology plays a vital role in cutting-edge fundamental research in extreme physics, chemistry, materials, and biology. However, its singular imaging perspective only provides planar images, restricting a comprehensive analysis of genuine three-dimensional ultra-fast processes, thereby limiting its broader applications.

Researchers used ultrafast imaging to capture the unknown dynamics process. But when they tried to get these signals, both the transient properties and shape affected how it reacted to light. This made it hard to see the individual effects just from the reflection images. Usually, regular imaging shows 3D details in a flat, 2D way. It's good for seeing changes in flat processes. However, when there's strong activity, the shape and nature of materials change in a full 3D space, which also involves other confusing signals like bending and spreading of light.

Jiang asked, "Could we leverage the principle of binocular imaging to introduce another imaging perspective?" He believes that synchronizing both time and space of the two perspectives becomes paramount for the experiment.

Under his guidance, Lian adopted orthogonally polarized light to simultaneously image from two perspectives, achieving high-quality signal acquisition. They integrated the image features of both viewpoints to reconstruct a three-dimensional matrix by using multiplication by Euler angle rotations, enabling optical property analysis on any cross-section of the plasma. This unveiled the asymmetry of early plasma contraction and divergence morphologies in three-dimensional space. They termed this approach 'quasi-three-dimensional imaging'.

The findings demonstrate that quasi-3D imaging not only offers a more comprehensive understanding of plasma dynamics than previous imaging methods, but also has wide potential in revealing various complex ultrafast phenomena in related fields including strong-field physics, fluid dynamics, and cutting-edge manufacturing.

About IJEM:

International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing (IF: 14.7, 1st in the Engineering, Manufacturing category in JCR 2023) is a new multidisciplinary, double-anonymous peer-reviewed and diamond open-access without article processing charge journal uniquely covering the full spectrum of extreme manufacturing. The journal is devoted to publishing original articles and reviews of the highest quality and impact in the areas related to  the science and technology of manufacturing functional devices and systems with extreme dimensions (extremely large or small) and/or extreme functionalities, ranging from fundamental science to cutting-edge technologies that support the manufacturing of high-performance products involving emerging techniques and breaking the limits of currently known theories, methods, scales, environments, and performance.

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