Investigation of separating the transmitted and scattered light beams in free space by ultrafast optical switches

摘要

In this paper, the separation of transmitted and diffused light beams in a scattering medium by a magneto-optical ultra-fast switch is investigated. The magneto-optical switch previously developed by the authors is capable of 1 ns switchingspeed and has a 1 mm clear aperture. The diffused light beams and ballistic beams in a scattering medium are simulatedin the lab by two beam paths. One beam is delayed from the other to simulate the diffused light beam and the ballisticbeam, respectively. The magneto-optical switch is synchronized with the required delay to the laser pulse to keep onlythe ballistic beam, acting as an ultrafast light gate. The concept is demonstrated with a 532nm Q-switched pulsed laser.