Two-dimensional laser-induced phased arrays for remote volumetric ultrasonic imaging

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Lukacs, Peter and Pieris, Don and Davis, Geo and Riding, Matthew W. and Stratoudaki, Theodosia (2025) Two-dimensional laser-induced phased arrays for remote volumetric ultrasonic imaging. IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, 72 (8). pp. 1053-1064. ISSN 0885-3010 (https://doi.org/10.1109/tuffc.2025.3580168)

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Abstract

Three-dimensional modality is critical for ultrasonic imaging to provide a representative volumetric view of objects, for better evaluation of the shape, size, and orientation of internal features. Conventional ultrasonic transducers are still used for the majority of phased-array ultrasonic measurements. However, transducer arrays have certain drawbacks and limitations: they use a contact technique, requiring couplants. They also have a considerable size/weight/footprint, preventing use in places with restricted access and/or extreme environments. Laser-generated and detected ultrasound presents a noncontact, remote, ultrasonic imaging method. Furthermore, laser-induced phased arrays (LIPAs) have been developed for ultrasonic imaging. Data captured with LIPAs have already been used in conjunction with the delay-and-sum imaging algorithm, the total focusing method (TFM), for high-quality, 2-D ultrasonic imaging. However, there have been very limited instances of 3-D laser ultrasonic imaging in the literature and no realization of the TFM yet, even though the TFM is considered the gold standard for ultrasonic imaging. This article presents a laser ultrasonic system capable of synthesizing 2-D LIPAs, which acquire all-optical data for 3-D TFM imaging. The potential and advantages of 2-D LIPAs for volumetric imaging are demonstrated first by comparing the use of 1-D and 2-D arrays to image a crack-like defect. Following this, 3-D TFM imaging using 2-D LIPAs is evaluated by imaging a sample with 4 bottom-drilled holes. The results are compared to those using three other 3-D laser ultrasonic techniques presented in the literature: monostatic SAFT, bistatic SAFT, and a method called fixed detector.

ORCID iDs

Lukacs, Peter ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6540-6878, Pieris, Don ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9632-0214, Davis, Geo ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4779-1279, Riding, Matthew W. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3707-7518 and Stratoudaki, Theodosia ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7462-8664;
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