High-speed frequency swept light source for Fourier domain OCT at 20 kHz A-scan rate

We demonstrate a high-speed tunable, continuous wave laser source for Fourier domain OCT. The laser source is based on a fiber coupled, semiconductor optical amplifier and a tunable ultrahigh finesse, fiber Fabry Perot filter for frequency tuning. The light source provides frequency scan rates of up to 20,000 sweeps per second over a wavelength range of >70 nm FWHM at 1330 nm, yielding an axial resolution of ~14 μm in air. The linewidth is narrow and corresponds to a coherence length of several mm, enabling OCT imaging over a large axial range.

[1]  S. Yun,et al.  High-speed spectral-domain optical coherence tomography at 1.3 mum wavelength. , 2003, Optics express.

[2]  B. Bouma,et al.  Improved signal-to-noise ratio in spectral-domain compared with time-domain optical coherence tomography. , 2003, Optics letters.

[3]  A. Fercher,et al.  Measurement of intraocular distances by backscattering spectral interferometry , 1995 .

[4]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  Optical frequency-domain reflectometry using rapid wavelength tuning of a Cr4+:forsterite laser. , 1997, Optics letters.

[5]  A. Fercher,et al.  Performance of fourier domain vs. time domain optical coherence tomography. , 2003, Optics express.

[6]  G. Ha Usler,et al.  "Coherence radar" and "spectral radar"-new tools for dermatological diagnosis. , 1998, Journal of biomedical optics.

[7]  Changhuei Yang,et al.  Sensitivity advantage of swept source and Fourier domain optical coherence tomography. , 2003, Optics express.

[8]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  Optical coherence tomography using a frequency-tunable optical source. , 1997, Optics letters.

[9]  S H Yun,et al.  Motion artifacts in optical coherence tomography with frequency-domain ranging. , 2004, Optics express.

[10]  J. Fujimoto.  Optical coherence tomography for ultrahigh resolution in vivo imaging , 2003, Nature Biotechnology.

[11]  S. Yun,et al.  High-speed wavelength-swept semiconductor laser with a polygon-scanner-based wavelength filter. , 2003, Optics letters.

[12]  J. Fujimoto,et al.  Optical Coherence Tomography , 1991 .