AsianScientist (Sep. 23, 2014) – A multi-disciplinary team led by researchers at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has developed a new optical spectroscopy approach that is one million times faster than existing optical spectrum analyzer technologies. Their results have been published in journals including Scientific Reports and Optics Express.
Called Parametric Spectro-Temporal Analyzer (PASTA), the technique integrates existing fiber-optic and laser technologies. It can capture optical spectra of ultrafast-dynamic phenomena with an optical resolution of 0.02 nm at a scan rate as fast as 100,000,000 per second, or one million times faster than conventional optical spectrum analyzer technologies.
The high speed achieved enables PASTA to be used for real-time ultrafast monitoring, such as for tracking the combustion status of chemical reactions to optimize combustion engine efficiency and help in developing the next generation smart green engines.
In combination with state-of-art optical endoscopic imaging technology (namely optical coherence tomography, OCT), PASTA can analyze massive amounts data in a short period of time. This improves the accuracy and stability of in vivo imaging and enables real-time monitoring during minimally invasive surgery.
“Realizing such capability has been challenging, yet mandated for in vivo real-time imaging during surgery and basic research in life sciences. For example, existing imaging technologies are unable to provide real-time microscopic and spectroscopic image and video during surgery,” said lead researcher Dr. Kenneth Wong Kin-Yip.
“PASTA is especially pertinent to observing ultrafast dynamic spectroscopic events and also promising for in vivo real-time imaging that requires ultrafast scan rate. These will also be the main focus of our on-going research with this new technique,” he said.
The articles can be found at:
Zhang et al. (2014) Parametric Spectro-Temporal Analyzer (PASTA) for Real-time Optical Spectrum Observation.
Zhang et al. (2014) Performance of Parametric Spectro-Temporal Analyzer (PASTA).
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Source: The University of Hong Kong.
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