Deep image restoration for infrared photothermal heterodyne imaging

Abstract

Infrared photothermal heterodyne imaging (IR-PHI) is an all-optical table top approach that enables super-resolution mid-infrared microscopy and spectroscopy. The underlying principle behind IR-PHI is the detection of photothermal changes to specimens induced by their absorption of infrared radiation. Because detection of resulting refractive index and scattering cross section changes is done using a visible (probe) laser, IR-PHI exhibits a spatial resolution of ∼300 nm. This is significantly below the mid-infrared diffraction limit and is unlike conventional infrared absorption microscopy where spatial resolution is of order ∼5μm. Despite having achieved mid-infrared super-resolution, IR-PHI’s spatial resolution is ultimately limited by the visible probe laser’s diffraction limit. This hinders immediate application to studying samples residing in spatially congested environments. To circumvent this, we demonstrate further enhancements to IR-PHI’s spatial resolution using a deep learning network that addresses the Abbe diffraction limit as well as background artifacts, introduced by experimental raster scanning. What results is a twofold improvement in feature resolution from 300 to ∼150 nm.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Dec 02, 2021
Source ID
10.1063/5.0071944

Entities

People

  • Ilia M Pavlovetc
  • Kirill Kniazev
  • Masaru Kuno
  • Robert L. Stevenson
  • Shuang Zhang
  • Shubin Zhang

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • National Science Foundation
  • University of Notre Dame

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Computer Vision.
  • Nanoscale Plasmonic Nanotechnology
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • Directed Energy