Caroline AMIOT : "Novel Supercontinuum Sensing and Imaging Techniques in the Infrared"

This work was performed in the context of a collaboration between the Université de Bourgogne Franche Comté and Tampere University of Technology  under the co-supervision of Prof. John Dudley and Prof. Goëry Genty.

Abstract :
The ability to detect substances or molecules with high sensitivity and to image object with high resolution plays an important role in our every-day life, as well as in advances in understanding fundamental phenomena. This thesis reports novel, proof-of-concepts, broadband optical sensing and imaging techniques using supercontinuum sources in the infrared. In the thesis, incoherent broadband cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy and cantilever-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy are demonstrated in mid-infrared range using a supercontinuum light source, allowing for the detection of gases trace over very large spectral bandwidths.
The novel concept of ghost imaging in the spectral domain is subsequently introduced where the shot-to-shot spectral fluctuations of an incoherent supercontinuum light source are exploited along with the recent progress in real-time spectral measurements to demonstrate both absorption spectroscopy and optical coherence tomography.
The results open up novel perspectives for infrared sensing and imaging, showing in particular that supercontinuum sources can have significant advantages for applications in this spectral region. Significantly, because the concepts proposed are generic, they can be extended to other spectral regions and one can anticipate that the work presented in this thesis will foster new ideas and developments for optical sensing and imaging.

Jury :
Membres du jury / Evaluation committee :
Mr Miguel ALONSO, Professeur à University of Rochester, Président
Mr Daniele FACCIO, Professeur à University of Glasgow, Rapporteur
Mr Tero SEPÄLÄ, Professeur à University of Eastern Finland, Rapporteur
Mr Goëry GENTY, Professeur à Tampere University of Technology, Directeur de thèse
Mr John DUDLEY, Professeur à l’université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Codirecteur de thèse

Lieu : Tampere University of Technology à Tampere, Finlande