Patent ID: 6445491
Filing Date: 2002-09-03
Classification: G01N,G01S,G02F

Abstract:
An ultrafast time-gated optical parametric amplification system using time-gated optical parametric amplification of light received from an object, comprising:an ultrashort pulse laser system configured to generate an optical illumination beam at an illumination frequency and an ultrashort optical pump pulse at a pump frequency, said ultrashort pulse laser system directing the optical illumination beam toward the object; a nonlinear optical medium arranged to receive reflected light from the object at a signal frequency in response to interaction of the optical illumination beam with the object, said ultrashort pulse laser system pumping said nonlinear optical medium with the pump pulse, such that the pump pulse spatially and temporally overlaps a portion of the light from the object within the nonlinear optical medium, resulting in time-gating and optical parametric amplification of the portion of the light from the object from interaction with the pump pulse within said nonlinear optical medium; and an optical detector responsive to output light emitted by the nonlinear optical medium to produce detection signals.