A new optical beam splitting method is proposed, based on which the optical frame camera capable of capturing multiple frames in a single exposure is designed and experimentally verified. The operation of the frame camera is based on an ultra-fast response semiconductor detector. It is equipped with an optical beam splitter and an optical imaging module. The ultrafast semiconductor detector receives an optical pulse that produces a transient refractive index change, and ultrafast physical processes are recorded by diffracting the probe laser through the transient phase grating. The interaction of an X-ray pulse with a semiconductor detector to produce a phase grating is simulated, based on the Monte Carlo method. The optical beam splitting mode separates a laser into two optical pulses with a certain time difference in the direction of polarization perpendicular to each other. The imaging module filters the diffracted probe laser in the spectral plane and then images multiple frames. The frame camera was used to record the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of femtosecond laser pulses with a temporal resolution of 4.1 ps. This frame camera has great potential and value for applying to experimental studies of inertial confinement fusion. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd