A new camera can see individual photons of infrared light at sixty thousand frames per second while sitting on a desk at room temperature.
Mid-infrared light is the molecular fingerprint region where we can see the vibrations of specific chemicals. Usually, cameras that can see this light at high speeds need to be cooled with liquid nitrogen to function. This new SPAD camera operates at room temperature and captures images fast enough to see chemical reactions happen in real-time. It opens up a new world for medical diagnostics, gas detection, and thermal monitoring without the need for bulky cooling equipment. We can now watch the invisible thermal world with the same clarity as a high-speed video. This could make advanced medical imaging portable and affordable for the first time.
High Frame-Rate Mid-Infrared SPAD Camera
arXiv · 2605.04276
Single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) arrays have transformed optical imaging by enabling photon-counting sensitivity, picosecond resolution, and high frame-rate operation. These capabilities, however, have remained confined to the visible and near-infrared, leaving the mid-infrared, the spectral region hosting the fundamental vibrational signatures of most molecules, largely inaccessible. Here, we demonstrate the first mid-IR SPAD camera by integrating broadband adiabatic frequency upconversion