About me
ResearchGate profile here
My Research
My previous research has covered a wide range of topics of Optics and Photonics, including adaptive optics, microscopy, computational imaging, and ultrafast photonics.
In the imaging concepts group, I am currently working on computational imaging, which refers to the enhancement of the capabilities of an imaging system by the application of computational techniques, as an alternative to increasing the optical setup complexity. One of the aims of computational imaging is the development of cost-effective imaging systems, supported by the continuous price reduction of computation power predicted by Moore law. Concretely, I have applied computational imaging for multispectral, light field, 3D imaging, and pixel super-resolution in camera array systems in the infrared domain, working in a Horizon 2020 knowledge transfer project, in partnership with Airbus, Thales, and other smaller companies to develop a modular, compact and cost effective snapshot spectral imaging system in the infrared domain (0.7-14 µm wavelength) on European technology. http://www.seersproject.eu/. Most recently I am working towards the development of an ultra-wide field of view retinal imaging systems based on computational illumination for glare-free images, focused on its application to retinopaty of prematurity.
I have also worked in areas related to beam shaping with SLMs (particularly DMDs), real-time aberration correction in disordered media, and light-sheet microscopy, with a particular interest in the study and application of compensating non-diffracting beams. We proposed and demonstrated compensating non-diffracting beams, and its benefits delivering more light at depth with less peak intensity and photo-toxicity in fluorescence microscopy.
I have also studied the propagation properties of Airy-based waveforms pulses in dispersive media, with a focus in optical fibers for their application in optical communications, proposing and demonstrating dispesion-free compensating waveforms. This pioneering work was the seed of the later contributions regarding attenuation compensating Airy-beams, and their application in light-sheet microscopy.
The beginning of my research career was focused on the design and fabrication of ultrafast photonic processors, based on high order resonant structures such as bragg gratings and coupled ring resonators, with a particular interest on phase-only filtering cavities structures, and Bragg gratings operating in transmission mode.
I eventually keep collaborating with former colleagues in Aston University(UK) and Huazhong University of Science and Technology (China), in the design and fabrication of ultra-fast photonic processors.
My Publications
A whole list of publications can be found in ResearchGate.
Most relevant works:
Jonathan Nylk, Kaley McCluskey, Miguel A Preciado, Michael Mazilu, Frank J Gunn-Moore, Sanya Aggarwal, Javier A Tello, David EK Ferrier, Kishan Dholakia
Science Advances 06 Apr 2018: Vol. 4, no. 4, eaar4817 https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aar4817
Scattering and absorption limit the penetration of optical fields into tissue, but wavefront correction, often used to compensate for these effects, is incompatible with wide field-of-view imaging and complex to implement. We demonstrate a new approach for increased penetration in light-sheet imaging, namely attenuation-compensation of the light field. This tailors an exponential intensity increase along the illuminating propagation-invariant field, enabling the redistribution of intensity strategically within a sample. This powerful yet straightforward concept, combined with the self-healing of the propagation-invariant field, improves the signal-to-background ratio of Airy light-sheet microscopy up to five-fold and the contrast-to-noise ratio up to eight-fold in thick biological specimens across the field-of-view without any aberration-correction. This improvement is not limited to Airy beam light-sheet microscopy, but can also significantly increase the imaging capabilities of Bessel and lattice light-sheet microscopy techniques, paving the way for widespread uptake by the biomedical community.
MA Preciado, G Carles, AR Harvey
OSA Continuum, Vol.1, no. 2 (2018)
https://doi.org/10.1364/OSAC.1.000170
We report the first computational super-resolution imaging using a camera array at longwave infrared wavelengths combined with the first demonstration of video-rate multi-camera integral imaging at these wavelengths. We employ an array of synchronized FLIR Lepton cameras to record video-rate data that enables light-field imaging capabilities, such as 3D imaging and recognition of partially obscured objects, while also providing a four-fold increase in effective pixel count. This approach to high-resolution imaging enables a fundamental reduction in the track length and volume of LWIR imaging systems, while also enabling use of low-cost lens materials.
MA Preciado, K Dholakia, M Mazilu
Optics letters 39 (16), 4950-4953 (2014)
We present an attenuation-corrected “nondiffracting” Airy beam. The correction factor can be adjusted to deliver a beam that exhibits an adjustable exponential intensity increase or decrease over a finite distance. A digital micromirror device that shapes both amplitude and phase is used to experimentally verify the propagation of these beams through air and partially absorbing media.
MA Preciado, K Sugden
Optics letters 37 (23), 4970-4972 (2012)
A novel (to our knowledge) kind of Airy-based pulse with an invariant propagation in lossy dispersive media is proposed. The basic principle is based on an optical energy trade-off between different parts of the pulse caused by the chromatic dispersion, which is used to compensate the attenuation losses of the propagation medium. Although the ideal concept of the proposed pulses implies infinite pulse energy, the numerical simulations show that practical finite energy pulses can be designed to obtain a partially invariant propagation over a finite distance of propagation.
Miguel A Preciado, Xuewen Shu, Kate Sugden
Optics letters 39, 70-72 (2013)
An approach to pulse shaping using a phase-modulated fiber Bragg grating (FBG) in transmission is proposed and designed. We show that phase-modulated FBGs can provide transmission responses suitable for pulse shaping applications, offering important technological feasibility benefits, since the coupling strength remains basically uniform in the grating. Moreover, this approach retains the substantial advantages of FBGs in transmission, such as optimum energy efficiency, no requirement for an optical circulator, and robustness against fabrication errors.
Miguel A Preciado, Miguel A Muriel
Optics express 16(15), 11162-1168 (2008)
We propose and analyze several simple all-pass spectrally-periodic optical structures, in terms of accuracy and robustness, for the implementation of repetition rate multipliers of periodic pulse train with uniform output train envelope, finding optimum solutions for multiplication factors of 3, 4, 6, and 12.
Miguel A Preciado, Miguel A Muriel
Optics express 16(15), 11162-1168 (2008)
We propose a simple lossless method for the generation of flat-topped intensity pulses bursts from a single utrashort pulse. We have found optimum solutions corresponding to different numbers of cavities and burst pulses, showing that the proposed all-pass structures of optical cavities, properly designed, can generate close to flat-topped pulse busts.
Miguel A. Preciado got a BEng & MsC in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in Universidad de Sevilla with speciality in digital signal and image processing, and a PhD in photonics in Universidad Politecnica de Madrid. He has been Visiting Scholar in very relevant institutions leader in the field or optics and photonics (RLE in M.I.T., iTeam in Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, ORC in Southampton University, and AIPT in Aston University), Research Fellow in Aston University (Birmingham,UK) funded by an IEF Marie Curie Fellowship, and Research Associate in University of St Andrews (Scotland). He also spent some time in industry as an optical design engineer for photolitography waver alignment, and has been involved in several industrial knowledge transfer projects.
He is currently holding a Research Associate position at the Imaging concepts group of University of Glasgow.
Contact Details
School of Physics & Astronomy, Kelvin Building (room 246B),
University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
T: +44 (0)141 330 3230