Luying Yi

Luying Yi has been focused on developing innovative optical imaging sensors and intelligent optical sensors. By combining optical engineering and the fundamental science of luminescent materials, Yi aims to overcome the challenges faced by traditional optical sensors. These challenges are globally significant, especially in the field of optical imaging sensors.

Measurement of light direction is crucial for 3D scene reconstruction and high-contrast phase-contrast imaging. Traditional methods such as micro-lens arrays and photonic crystals are limited to the ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelength range, with a restricted angular measurement range (<2°).

Yi innovatively proposed a strategy that encodes the direction of incident light into the emission color of the materials, breaking the wavelength boundaries of light field imaging sensors and extending it to X-rays. By designing cylindrical azimuthal detectors that incorporate luminescent nanocrystals emitting red, green, and blue light with radial arrangements along the cylindrical axis, the emitted colors of the azimuthal detectors can be mapped to the direction of the excitation light.

The imaging sensors composed of an array of detectors overcome the limitations of traditional light field imaging, covering an ultra-broad wavelength range from X-rays to visible light (0.002 nm to 550 nm), with an angular measurement range exceeding 80° and an angular resolution of 0.0018°. These sensors find applications in LiDAR, AR, and X-ray phase-contrast CT.

Yi collaboratively developed a dual-tapered fiber array that extends the response wavelength of optical imaging sensors beyond X-rays to gamma rays. This breakthrough led to the successful fabrication of large-area and high-density X-ray and gamma-ray imaging sensors.

In terms of developing optical intelligent sensors to revolutionize assistive technologies, Yi completed the first-ever development of self-powered distributed optical fiber sensors integrated with mechanoluminescence materials. An innovative approach was also developed by her to integrate long-persistent phosphors into an optical fiber sensor, enabling it to serve as dual-function sensors for dose monitoring and pH detection.