arXiv subjects

Xiaolan Zhong

Publications and source records attributed to Xiaolan Zhong.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Sub-40 nm resolution deep tissue imaging by image scanning emission saturation nanoscopy

The development of deep-tissue super-resolution imaging serves as an essential bridge toward non-invasive in vivo optical observation. However, there remain challenges to balance spatial resolution, imaging depth and phototoxicity. Here, we present a nanoscopy namely Image Scanning Emission Saturation (ISES) nanoscopy, achieving a lateral resolution of 37 nm, 1/25th of the excitation wavelength, at an imaging depth of 200 μm. Using a 976-nm doughnut-shaped excitation beam within an imaging-scanning microscopy configuration, we apply saturation-based point spread function (PSF) engineering and pixel-level confocal-pinhole enhancement to improve spatial resolution. As the high- and low-frequency components of the image OTF are concurrently acquired in a single scan via different camera pixels, Fourier-domain fusion can be employed with a single scanning dataset to further improve image quality. Compared with the traditional doughnut excitation beam-based adaptive pixel reassignment method, our strategy preserves the original frequency distributions and mitigates reconstruction artifacts in complex biological sample imaging. This strategy is generalizable and compatible with a variety of probes displaying saturation behavior. Beyond enabling a versatile and practical approach for deep tissue super-resolution imaging, it also informs the development of next-generation nanoprobes for imaging.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Compressive hyperspectral phasor imaging with single-pixel detection for spectral tasks

Spectral vision task plays a pivotal role in extracting discriminative spectral-spatial features from high-dimensional data, enabling fine-grained identification beyond human vision. Traditional methods usually involve first collecting rich spectral-spatial information and then using complex algorithms to digitally process it into scene classification and recognition. However, the complexity of processing massive three-dimensional (3D) hyperspectral datasets poses challenges for algorithms. Here, we demonstrate a compressive Hyperspectral Phasor Imaging with Single-pixel detection (HyPIS) that leverages highly compressed spatial-spectral data to achieve spectral task. Two optical encoders are used for wavelength-dependent sine- and cosine-encoding that transforms spectral signals into a two-dimensional (2D) phasor plot. By applying spatial-temporal illumination patterns, a single-pixel detector is enough to reconstruct the phasor image of the object. This allows to directly generate pixel-wise spectral task, bypassing 3D hyperspectral data. Our experiments show that HyPIS can perform real-time classification and recognition tasks of different scenes, reducing the required amount of data by two orders of magnitude, and it can still accurately classify under low light and uneven lighting conditions. This work develops a completely new spectral technology that enables spectral tasks to be performed without obtaining high-resolution hyperspectral datasets, holding promise for spectral applications in mobile devices, robotics, and satellite technologies.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Exploiting scattering-based point spread functions for snapshot 5D and modality-switchable lensless imaging

Snapshot multi-dimensional imaging offers a promising alternative to traditional low-dimensional imaging techniques by enabling the simultaneous capture of spatial, spectral, polarization, and other information in a single shot for improved imaging speed and acquisition efficiency. However, existing snapshot multi-dimensional imaging systems are often hindered by their large size, complexity, and high cost, which constrain their practical applicability. In this work, we propose a compact lensless diffuser camera for snapshot multi-dimensional imaging (Diffuser-mCam), which can reconstruct five-dimensional (5-D) images from a single-shot 2D recording of speckle-like measurement under incoherent illumination. By employing both the scattering medium and the space-division multiplexing strategy to extract high-dimensional optical features, we show that the multi-dimensional data (2D intensity distribution, spectral, polarization, time) of the desired light field can be encoded into a snapshot speckle-like pattern via a diffuser, and subsequently decoded using a compressed sensing algorithm at the sampling rate of 2.5%, eliminating the need for multi-scanning processes. We further demonstrate that our method can be flexibly switched between 5D and selectively reduced-dimensional imaging, providing an efficient way of reducing computational resource demands. Our work presents a compact, cost-effective, and versatile framework for snapshot multi-dimensional imaging and opens up new opportunities for the design of novel imaging systems for applications in areas such as medical imaging, remote sensing, and autonomous systems.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Multitype entanglement dynamics induced by exceptional points

As a most important feature of non-Hermitian systems, exceptional points (EPs) lead to a variety of unconventional phenomena and applications. Here, we study a generic model composed of two coupled non-Hermitian qubits, the EPs can be easily obtained in this system by adjusting the driving amplitude applied to the qubits. The diverse entanglement dynamics on the two sides of the original fourth-order EP (EP4') and second order EP (EP2) can be observed simultaneously in the weak coupling regime. With the increase of the coupling strength, the EP4' is replaced by an additional EP2, leading to the disappearance of the entanglement dynamics changing induced by EP4' in the strong coupling regime. Considering the case of Ising type interaction, we also realize EP-induced entanglement dynamics changing without the driving field. Our study paves the way for the investigation of EP-induced quantum effects and applications of EP-related quantum technologies.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Multi-photon super-linear image scanning microscopy using upconversion nanoparticles

Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy is of great interest in life science studies for visualizing subcellular structures at the nanometer scale. Among various kinds of super-resolution approaches, image scanning microscopy (ISM) offers a doubled resolution enhancement in a simple and straightforward manner, based on the commonly used confocal microscopes. ISM is also suitable to be integrated with multi-photon microscopy techniques, such as two-photon excitation and second-harmonic generation imaging, for deep tissue imaging, but it remains the twofold limited resolution enhancement and requires expensive femtosecond lasers. Here, we present and experimentally demonstrate the super-linear ISM (SL-ISM) to push the resolution enhancement beyond the factor of two, with a single low-power, continuous-wave, and near-infrared laser, by harnessing the emission nonlinearity within the multiphoton excitation process of lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs). Based on a modified confocal microscope, we achieve a resolution of about 120 nm, 1/8th of the excitation wavelength. Furthermore, we demonstrate a parallel detection strategy of SL-ISM with the multifocal structured excitation pattern, to speed up the acquisition frame rate. This method suggests a new perspective for super-resolution imaging or sensing, multi-photon imaging, and deep-tissue imaging with simple, low-cost, and straightforward implementations.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Miniaturized on-chip spectrometer enabled by electrochromic modulation

Miniaturized on-chip spectrometers with small footprints, lightweight, and low cost are in great demand for portable optical sensing, lab-on-chip systems, and so on. Such miniaturized spectrometers are usually based on engineered spectral response units and then reconstruct unknown spectra with algorithms. However, due to the limited footprints of computational on-chip spectrometers, the recovered spectral resolution is limited by the number of integrated spectral response units/filters. Thus, it is challenging to improve the spectral resolution without increasing the number of used filters. Here we present a computational on-chip spectrometer using electrochromic filters that can be electrochemically modulated to increase the efficient sampling number for higher spectral resolution. These filters are directly integrated on top of the photodetector pixels, and the spectral modulation of the filters results from redox reactions during the dual injection of ions and electrons into the electrochromic material. We experimentally demonstrate that the spectral resolution of the proposed spectrometer can be effectively improved as the number of applied voltages increases. The average difference of the peak wavelengths between the reconstructed and the reference spectra decreases from 14.48 nm to 2.57 nm. We also demonstrate the proposed spectrometer can be worked with only four or two filter units, assisted by electrochromic modulation. This strategy suggests a new way to enhance the performance of miniaturized spectrometers with tunable spectral filters for high resolution, low-cost, and portable spectral sensing, and would also inspire the exploration of other stimulus responses such as photochromic and force-chromic, etc, on computational spectrometers.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Temporal compressive edge imaging enabled by a lensless diffuser camera

Lensless imagers based on diffusers or encoding masks enable high-dimensional imaging from a single shot measurement and have been applied in various applications. However, to further extract image information such as edge detection, conventional post-processing filtering operations are needed after the reconstruction of the original object images in the diffuser imaging systems. Here, we present the concept of a temporal compressive edge detection method based on a lensless diffuser camera, which can directly recover a time sequence of edge images of a moving object from a single-shot measurement, without further post-processing steps. Our approach provides higher image quality during edge detection, compared with the conventional post-processing method. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach by both numerical simulation and experiments. The proof-of-concept approach can be further developed with other image post-process operations or versatile computer vision assignments toward task-oriented intelligent lensless imaging systems.

eess.IV↗

arXiv2023

Quantitative and dark field ghost imaging with ultraviolet light

Ultraviolet (UV) imaging enables a diverse array of applications, such as material composition analysis, biological fluorescence imaging, and detecting defects in semiconductor manufacturing. However, scientific-grade UV cameras with high quantum efficiency are expensive and include a complex thermoelectric cooling system. Here, we demonstrate a UV computational ghost imaging (UV-CGI) method to provide a cost-effective UV imaging and detection strategy. By applying spatial-temporal illumination patterns and using a 325 nm laser source, a single-pixel detector is enough to reconstruct the images of objects. To demonstrate its capability for quantitative detection, we use UV-CGI to distinguish four UV-sensitive sunscreen areas with different densities on a sample. Furthermore, we demonstrate dark field UV-CGI in both transmission and reflection schemes. By only collecting the scattered light from objects, we can detect the edges of pure phase objects and small scratches on a compact disc. Our results showcase a feasible low-cost solution for non-destructive UV imaging and detection. By combining it with other imaging techniques, such as hyperspectral imaging or time-resolved imaging, a compact and versatile UV computational imaging platform may be realized for future applications.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Nano-Subsidence Assisted Precise Integration of Patterned Two-Dimensional Materials for High-Performance Photodetector Arrays

The spatially precise integration of arrays of micro-patterned two-dimensional (2D) crystals onto three-dimensionally structured Si/SiO$_2$ substrates represents an attractive strategy towards the low-cost system-on-chip integration of extended functions in silicon microelectronics. However, the reliable integration of the arrays of 2D materials on non-flat surfaces has thus far proved extremely challenging due to their poor adhesion to underlying substrates as ruled by weak van der Waals interactions. Here we report on a novel fabrication method based on nano-subsidence which enables the precise and reliable integration of the micro-patterned 2D materials/silicon photodiode arrays exhibiting high uniformity. Our devices display peak sensitivity as high as 0.35 A/W and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of ca. 90%, outperforming most commercial photodiodes. The nano-subsidence technique opens a viable path to on-chip integrate 2D crystals onto silicon for beyond-silicon microelectronics.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2022

Exploiting dynamic nonlinearity in upconversion nanoparticles for super-resolution imaging

Single-beam super-resolution microscopy, also known as superlinear microscopy, exploits the nonlinear response of fluorescent probes in confocal microscopy. The technique requires no complex purpose-built system, light field modulation, or beam shaping. Here, we present a strategy to enhance spatial resolution of superlinear microscopy by modulating excitation intensity during image acquisition. This modulation induces dynamic optical nonlinearity in upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), resulting in variations of higher spatial-frequency information in the obtained images. The high-order information can be extracted with a proposed weighted finite difference imaging algorithm from raw fluorescence images, to generate an image with a higher resolution than superlinear microscopy images. We apply this approach to resolve two adjacent nanoparticles within a diffraction-limited area, improving the resolution to 130 nm. This work suggests a new scope for developing dynamic nonlinear fluorescent probes in super-resolution nanoscopy.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

High-order exceptional point in a nanofiber cavity quantum electrodynamics system

We present an all-fiber emitter-cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) system which consists of two two-level emitters and a nanofiber cavity. Our scheme makes it possible to observe the higher-order exceptional points based on the coupling between the emitters and the nanofiber cavity. The effective gain of this cavity can be obtained by weakly driven to the nanofiber cavity via two identical laser fields, which will realize coherent perfect absorption (CPA) in the implementation of the experiments. Under the experimental feasible parameters, the Hamiltonian of this system is in the condition of pseudo-Hermiticity, which means that its eigenvalues can be made of one real and a pair of complex conjugates, or be all real. By controllably tuned the ratio of the two emitter-cavity coupling strengths, and the ratio of the decay rates of the emitters, we can discover both the three-order exceptional point (EP3) and the second-order exceptional point (EP2) without parity-time symmetry in our emitter-cavity system. These results can also be demonstrated by the total output spectra and transmission spectra. We also find that the symmetric modes come into being when the coupling strength greater than the critical coupling strength at EP3 points. Our proposal will provide a new method to realize higher-order exceptional points.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

All-analytical semiclassical theory of spaser for plasmonic nanocavity

Experimental approaches to manipulate light-matter interaction at nanoscale have quickly advanced in recent years, leading to the demonstration of spaser (surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) in plasmonic nanocavities. Yet, a well-understood analytical theory to better understand and quantitatively explain the connotation of spaser system is urgently needed. Here we develop an all-analytical semiclassical theory to investigate the energy exchange between active materials and fields and the spaser performance in a plasmonic nanocavity. The theory can be commonly used in understanding and designing all novel microlaser, nanolaser, and spaser systems.

physics.optics↗