Photoacoustic analysis and imaging techniques: Sound of light

An unusual form of imaging and analysis applications combines optics and acoustics to probe the features and behaviors of materials. The name of photoacoustic like all other techniques of spectroscopy reveals underlying its theoretical basis. Even if the prefix "photo" makes sense for a spectroscopy, acoustic may be initially amazing. Photoacoustic technique is extension of the photothermal effect, which is based on light beam hitting the sample and altering its thermal status. More precisely, photoacoustic effect is a transformation between light, heat, and sound caused by light absorption. After the successful formulation of general theoretical model, photoacoustic technique, which initially was only used for the analysis of gas samples, has been efficiently extended to analysis of condensed matters. Variety of samples, nondestructive analysis and imaging, depth profiling, high specificity and sensitivity, analysis of opaque samples are the most important advantages of photoacoustic technique. As of today, many researchers have performed in vitro and in vivo analysis and imaging application using photoacoustic technique; moreover, increasing number of companies are manufacturing biomedical imaging devices based on this effect. If the obstacles to experimental restrictions are removed, we will begin to hear the sound of light as more powerfully in many applications, particularly physics, materials science, and medicine.