@article{LI2025, 
author = {Qiang LI and Ruifeng ZHONG and Yi XU and Luya LI and Shulin DENG and Shuixian YANG and Zhihao FU and Chao LU and Jingshun PAN and Jun CHEN and Zhaohui LI},
title = {Rapid 3D Photoacoustic Imaging Technique Based on Chalcogenide On-Chip Micro-Ring Sensor Array},
year = {2025},
journal = {Photonic Sensors},
volume = {15},
number = {4},
pages = {250426},
keywords = {Chalcogenide glasses, micro-ring resonators array, digital optical frequency comb, photoacoustic computed tomography},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1007/s13320-025-0766-0},
doi = {10.1007/s13320-025-0766-0},
abstract = {Optical resonators are now essential in modern sensing applications, particularly in photoacoustic imaging technologies. Among these, three-dimensional photoacoustic computed tomography (3D-PACT) emerged as a significant area of research. This sophisticated technique involves two critical phases: first, the optical capture of acoustically scanned signals, and second, the optoelectrical demodulation of these acoustic responses. In this study, we present groundbreaking research on both facets and introduce a novel 3D-PACT system aimed at enhancing imaging performance. This system employs an array of 20 chalcogenide (Ge25Sb10S65) micro-ring resonators (MRRA) as the acoustic sensors, each micro-ring resonator featuring a radius of 20 µm and an average quality factor (Q-factor) of 5.5×105. Simultaneously, a digital optical frequency comb (DOFC) technique is introduced for parallel spectral detection and acoustic signal demodulation within the MRRA. By utilizing on-chip thermal electrodes to tune the resonance wavelengths of 20 micro-ring resonators, the DOFC method enables efficient parallel spectral demodulation of the MRRA, reducing the scanning time in the PACT by a factor of 20 compared to a single sensor. We demonstrate the performance of the 3D-PACT system using cross-sectional hair strands and leaf skeletons. The MRRA-based 3D-PACT system is a promising tool for structural, functional, and molecular imaging of deep biological tissues.}
}