Title: Computational Satellite Lidar Imaging

Abstract: Spaceborne lidars play a critical role in observing Earth’s urban, forest, and glacial ecosystems. However, existing satellite lidar systems are hindered by low spatial resolution and photon density, limiting their ability to produce detailed 3D surface topography and vegetation imagery. While airborne lidars provide higher resolution, they cannot achieve global coverage. This presentation introduces compressive satellite lidars (CS-Lidars), a novel approach utilizing coded laser illumination and dynamic wavelength scanning for wide-field 3D imaging. We propose a new framework based on hyperheight data cubes (HHDCs), a unique representation of waveform altimetry profiles that capture comprehensive 3D scene structures. HHDCs enable straightforward extraction of canopy height models (CHMs), digital terrain models (DTMs), and other scene features using simple statistical quantiles. Additionally, generative diffusion models are used for super-resolution imaging by learning conditional probabilities, employing forward imaging guidance, and incorporating high-resolution auxiliary data. These techniques were validated across multiple regions in the United States.

Bio: Dr. Gonzalo R. Arce is the Charles Black Evans Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Delaware. He is a JPMorgan-Chase Senior Faculty Fellow with the Institute of Financial Services Analytics at University of Delaware. He held twice the Nokia-Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Information and Communications Technologies at Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland. His research interests lie in computational imaging, signal processing, and machine learning. Dr. Arce is a Fellow of the IEEE, OPTICA, the SPIE and was elected to the National Academy of Inventors. He is Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Computational Imaging.

Title: Quantum imaging: opportunities and challenges

Abstract: Solid-state photon-counting image sensors have emerged as useful tools to capture fast phenomena involving light at various wavelengths, useful especially for quantum imaging applications. Fast photon detection can be achieved with few picosecond resolutions using single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) [1, 2]. The impact of these detectors on light detection and ranging (LiDAR), fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), time-of-flight positron emission tomography (TOF-PET), and many others has been remarkable, and more innovations in quantum imaging are expected. This will be enabled by advances in integrated SPADs along with powerful computational imaging techniques, such as quanta burst photography [3]. New technologies, such as 3D-stacking, Ge, and InP/InGaAs SPAD sensors, will accelerate adoption of SWIR/NIR image sensors [4]. A technological perspective will be given on computationally intensive image sensors, for affordable, yet powerful quantum imaging [5,6].

References

[1] K. Morimoto, M.-L. Wu, A. Ardelean, E. Charbon, “Superluminal Motion-Assisted Four-Dimensional Light-in-Flight Imaging”, Phys. Rev. X 11, 011005 (2021). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevX.11.011005

[2] F. Gramuglia, E. Ripiccini, C.A. Fenoglio, M.-L. Wu, L. Paolozzi, C. Bruschini, E. Charbon, “Direct MIP detection with sub-10 ps timing resolution Geiger-Mode APDs”, Nucl. Instr. and Meth. In Phys. Res. A (NIMA) 1047, 167813 (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2022.167813

[3] S. Ma, S. Gupta, A.C. Ulku, C. Bruschini, E. Charbon, and M. Gupta, “Quanta burst photography”, ACM Trans. Graph. 39(4) 79:1-79:16 (2020). DOI: 10.1145/3386569.3392470

[4] F. Liu and E. Charbon, “1.8-µm pitch, 47-ps jitter SPAD array in a 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS process”, Opt. Express 32(22), 38004-38012 (2024). DOI: 10.1364/OE.533631

[5] A.C. Ulku, C. Bruschini, I.M. Antolovic, Y. Kao, R. Ankri, S. Weiss, X. Michalet, E. Charbon, “A 512 × 512 SPAD Image Sensor With Integrated Gating for Widefield FLIM”, IEEE Journal of Sel. Top. in Quantum El., 25(1), 6801212 (2019). DOI: 10.1109/JSTQE.2018.2867439

[6] K. Morimoto, A. Ardelean, M.-L. Wu, A.C. Ulku, I.M. Antolovic, C. Bruschini, E. Charbon, “A megapixel time-gated SPAD image sensor for 2D and 3D imaging applications”, Optica 7(4), 346-354 (2020). DOI : 10.1364/OPTICA.386574

Bio: Edoardo Charbon (SM’00 F’17) received the Diploma from ETH Zurich, the M.S. from the University of California at San Diego, and the Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1988, 1991, and 1995, respectively, all in electrical engineering and EECS. He has consulted with numerous organizations, including Bosch, X-Fab, Texas Instruments, Maxim, Sony, Agilent, and the Carlyle Group. He was with Cadence Design Systems from 1995 to 2000, where he was the Architect of the company’s initiative on information hiding for intellectual property protection. In 2000, he joined Canesta Inc., as the Chief Architect, where he led the development of wireless 3-D CMOS image sensors. Since 2002 he has been a member of the faculty of EPFL, where he is full professor. From 2008 to 2016 he was with Delft University of Technology’s as full professor and Chair of VLSI design. He has been the driving force behind the creation of deep-submicron CMOS SPAD technology, which is mass-produced since 2015 and is present in telemeters, proximity sensors, and medical diagnostics tools. Since 2014, he has pioneered the use of Cryo-CMOS technology for the control of quantum devices, especially qubits, to achieve scalable, fault-tolerant quantum computing. His interests span from 3-D vision, LiDAR, FLIM, FCS, NIROT to super-resolution microscopy, time-resolved Raman spectroscopy, and cryo-CMOS circuits and systems for quantum computing. He has authored or co-authored over 500 papers and two books, and he holds 30 patents. Dr. Charbon is the recipient of the 2023 IISS Pioneering Achievement Award, he is a distinguished visiting scholar of the W. M. Keck Institute for Space at Caltech, a fellow of the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft, a distinguished lecturer of the IEEE Photonics Society, and a fellow of the IEEE.