Sub-Bin Delayed High-Range Accuracy Photon-Counting 3D Imaging
The range accuracy of single-photon-array three-dimensional (3D) imaging systems is limited by the time resolution of the array detectors. We introduce a method for achieving super-resolution in 3D imaging through sub-bin delayed scanning acquisition and fusion. Its central concept involves the gene...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Photonics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/11/2/181 |
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| author | Hao-Meng Yin Hui Zhao Ming-Yang Yang Yong-An Liu Li-Zhi Sheng Xue-Wu Fan |
| author_facet | Hao-Meng Yin Hui Zhao Ming-Yang Yang Yong-An Liu Li-Zhi Sheng Xue-Wu Fan |
| author_sort | Hao-Meng Yin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The range accuracy of single-photon-array three-dimensional (3D) imaging systems is limited by the time resolution of the array detectors. We introduce a method for achieving super-resolution in 3D imaging through sub-bin delayed scanning acquisition and fusion. Its central concept involves the generation of multiple sub-bin difference histograms through sub-bin shifting. Then, these coarse time-resolution histograms are fused with multiplied averages to produce finely time-resolved detailed histograms. Finally, the arrival times of the reflected photons with sub-bin resolution are extracted from the resulting fused high-time-resolution count distribution. Compared with the sub-delayed with the fusion method added, the proposed method performs better in reducing the broadening error caused by coarsened discrete sampling and background noise error. The effectiveness of the proposed method is examined at different target distances, pulse widths, and sub-bin scales. The simulation analytical results indicate that small-scale sub-bin delays contribute to superior reconstruction outcomes for the proposed method. Specifically, implementing a sub-bin temporal resolution delay of a factor of 0.1 for a 100 ps echo pulse width substantially reduces the system ranging error by three orders of magnitude. Furthermore, Monte Carlo simulations allow to describe a low signal-to-background noise ratio (0.05) characterised by sparsely reflected photons. The proposed method demonstrates a commendable capability to simultaneously achieve wide-ranging super-resolution and denoising. This is evidenced by the detailed depth distribution information and substantial reduction of 95.60% in the mean absolute error of the reconstruction results, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed method in noisy scenarios. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:16:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-209b38dc7a1d4ebda6241430c16f19ef |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2304-6732 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:16:38Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Photonics |
| spelling | doaj.art-209b38dc7a1d4ebda6241430c16f19ef2024-02-23T15:31:45ZengMDPI AGPhotonics2304-67322024-02-0111218110.3390/photonics11020181Sub-Bin Delayed High-Range Accuracy Photon-Counting 3D ImagingHao-Meng Yin0Hui Zhao1Ming-Yang Yang2Yong-An Liu3Li-Zhi Sheng4Xue-Wu Fan5Space Optical Technology Research Department, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, ChinaSpace Optical Technology Research Department, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, ChinaSpace Optical Technology Research Department, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, ChinaSpace Optical Technology Research Department, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, ChinaThe range accuracy of single-photon-array three-dimensional (3D) imaging systems is limited by the time resolution of the array detectors. We introduce a method for achieving super-resolution in 3D imaging through sub-bin delayed scanning acquisition and fusion. Its central concept involves the generation of multiple sub-bin difference histograms through sub-bin shifting. Then, these coarse time-resolution histograms are fused with multiplied averages to produce finely time-resolved detailed histograms. Finally, the arrival times of the reflected photons with sub-bin resolution are extracted from the resulting fused high-time-resolution count distribution. Compared with the sub-delayed with the fusion method added, the proposed method performs better in reducing the broadening error caused by coarsened discrete sampling and background noise error. The effectiveness of the proposed method is examined at different target distances, pulse widths, and sub-bin scales. The simulation analytical results indicate that small-scale sub-bin delays contribute to superior reconstruction outcomes for the proposed method. Specifically, implementing a sub-bin temporal resolution delay of a factor of 0.1 for a 100 ps echo pulse width substantially reduces the system ranging error by three orders of magnitude. Furthermore, Monte Carlo simulations allow to describe a low signal-to-background noise ratio (0.05) characterised by sparsely reflected photons. The proposed method demonstrates a commendable capability to simultaneously achieve wide-ranging super-resolution and denoising. This is evidenced by the detailed depth distribution information and substantial reduction of 95.60% in the mean absolute error of the reconstruction results, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed method in noisy scenarios.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/11/2/181single-photon imaging3D imagingrange accuracyquantisation error |
| spellingShingle | Hao-Meng Yin Hui Zhao Ming-Yang Yang Yong-An Liu Li-Zhi Sheng Xue-Wu Fan Sub-Bin Delayed High-Range Accuracy Photon-Counting 3D Imaging Photonics single-photon imaging 3D imaging range accuracy quantisation error |
| title | Sub-Bin Delayed High-Range Accuracy Photon-Counting 3D Imaging |
| title_full | Sub-Bin Delayed High-Range Accuracy Photon-Counting 3D Imaging |
| title_fullStr | Sub-Bin Delayed High-Range Accuracy Photon-Counting 3D Imaging |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sub-Bin Delayed High-Range Accuracy Photon-Counting 3D Imaging |
| title_short | Sub-Bin Delayed High-Range Accuracy Photon-Counting 3D Imaging |
| title_sort | sub bin delayed high range accuracy photon counting 3d imaging |
| topic | single-photon imaging 3D imaging range accuracy quantisation error |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-6732/11/2/181 |
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