05 April 2024 | Yurou Jia, Suying Zhang, Xuan Zhang, Houyou Long, Caibin Xu, Yechao Bai, Ying Cheng, Dajian Wu, Mingxi Deng, Cheng-Wei Qiu & Xiaojun Liu
This paper presents a compact meta-differentiator for achieving isotropic edge-enhanced ultrasonic imaging, which enhances the contrast of images without the need for contrast agents or external physical fields. The design incorporates an amplitude meta-grating for linear transmission along the radial direction and a phase meta-grating that combines focus and spiral phases with a first-order topological charge. The meta-differentiator is validated through theoretical analysis, numerical simulations, and experimental validation, demonstrating its effectiveness in distinguishing amplitude objects with isotropic edge enhancements. Additionally, it enables accurate detection of phase objects and artificial biological models. This breakthrough has significant implications for medical diagnosis and nondestructive testing, offering a new approach to improve the visibility of object boundaries and regional distinctions in images. The meta-differentiator's advantages include its compact design, ability to extract all object boundaries directly, and compatibility with both transmission- and reflective-mode imaging systems.This paper presents a compact meta-differentiator for achieving isotropic edge-enhanced ultrasonic imaging, which enhances the contrast of images without the need for contrast agents or external physical fields. The design incorporates an amplitude meta-grating for linear transmission along the radial direction and a phase meta-grating that combines focus and spiral phases with a first-order topological charge. The meta-differentiator is validated through theoretical analysis, numerical simulations, and experimental validation, demonstrating its effectiveness in distinguishing amplitude objects with isotropic edge enhancements. Additionally, it enables accurate detection of phase objects and artificial biological models. This breakthrough has significant implications for medical diagnosis and nondestructive testing, offering a new approach to improve the visibility of object boundaries and regional distinctions in images. The meta-differentiator's advantages include its compact design, ability to extract all object boundaries directly, and compatibility with both transmission- and reflective-mode imaging systems.