Ultrasonic imaging at 1,000 times times higher resolution | KurzweilAI

Ultrasonic imaging at 1,000 times times higher resolution | KurzweilAI: The researchers used a combination of subpicosecond laser pulses and unique nanostructures to produce acoustic phonons... at a frequency of 10 gigahertz (10 billion cycles per second).

By comparison, medical ultrasounds devices today typically reach a frequency of only about 20 megahertz...

“To generate 10 GHz acoustic frequencies in our plasmonic nanostructures we use a technique known as picosecond ultrasonics,” said author are Kevin O’Brien. “Sub-picosecond pulses of laser light excite plasmons which dissipate their energy as heat. The nanostructure rapidly expands and generates coherent acoustic phonons. This process transduces photons from the laser into coherent phonons.”