Solid-state ultrafast all-optical x-ray imaging sensor enabling picosecond temporal resolution

Here we report an ultrafast x-ray imaging sensor based on optical measurement of the effects of x-ray absorption and electron hole pair creation in a direct band-gap semiconductor. Our results indicate that this technology can be used to provide a new approach for x-ray detectors and x-ray imaging systems with picosecond temporal resolution at x-ray energies ~10 keV. The x-ray absorption in GaAs produces a transient, non-equilibrium, electron-hole pair distribution which is then sensed by the phase modulation of the optical probe beam. The basic physics of the detector, implementation considerations, and preliminary experimental data are presented and discussed. Through further development, this x-ray imaging sensor could provide insight into previously unmeasurable phenomena in many fields.