Holographic and time-resolving ability of pulse-pair two-dimensional velocity interferometry

Rev Sci Instrum. 2014 Jun;85(6):063115. doi: 10.1063/1.4884880.

Abstract

Previous velocity interferometers used at research laboratories for shock physics experiments measured target motion at a point or many points on a line on the target. Recently, a two-dimensional (2d) version (2d-velocity interferometer system for any reflector) has been demonstrated using a pair of ultrashort (3 ps) pulses for illumination, separated by 268 ps. We have discovered new abilities for this instrument, by treating the complex output image as a hologram. For data taken in an out of focus configuration, we can Fourier process to bring narrow features such as cracks into sharp focus, which are otherwise completely blurred. This solves a practical problem when using high numerical aperture optics having narrow depth of field to observe moving surface features such as cracks. Furthermore, theory predicts that the target appearance (position and reflectivity) at two separate moments in time are recorded by the main and conjugate images of the same hologram, and are partially separable during analysis for narrow features. Hence, for the cracks we bring into refocus, we can make a two-frame movie with a subnanosecond frame period. Longer and shorter frame periods are possible with different interferometer delays. Since the megapixel optical detectors we use have superior spatial resolution over electronic beam based framing cameras, this technology could be of great use in studying microscopic three-dimensional-behavior of targets at ultrafast times scales. Demonstrations on shocked silicon are shown.