Photon-sparse microscopy: visible light imaging using infrared illumination

• DOI: 10.1364/optica.2.001049
• Publication Date: 2015-12-10T15:24:46Z
• Authors: Reuben S. Aspden; Nathan R. Gemmell; Peter A. Morris; Daniel S. Tasca; Lena Mertens; Michael G. Tanner; Robert A. Kirkwood; Alessandro Ruggeri; Alberto Tosi; Robert W. Boyd; Gerald S. Buller; Robert H. Hadfield; Miles J. Padgett
• Keywords: Visible spectrum

Conventional imaging systems rely upon illumination light that is scattered or transmitted by the object and subsequently imaged. Ghost-imaging based on parametric down-conversion use twin beams of position-correlated signal idler photons. One beam illuminates an while image information recovered from a second has never interacted with object. In this Letter, we report camera-based ghost system where correlated photons have significantly different wavelengths. Infrared at 1550 nm wavelength illuminate are detected InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diode. The data recorded coincidently detected, position-correlated, visible 460 nm using highly efficient, low-noise, photon-counting camera. efficient transfer infrared to detection wavelengths ability count single allows acquisition illuminating optical power density only 100 pJ cm−2 s−1. This wavelength-transforming ghost-imaging technique potential for light-sensitive specimens covert operation desired.