Some Applications Of Picosecond Optical Range Gating

The application of picosecond optical range-gating techniques to ophthalmology is described. By directing picosecond light pulses into the eye and detecting the backscattered pulses with an ultrafast Kerr cell shutter it is possible to: 1) measure the location of index discontinuities and cataracts with a resolution of 1 mm; 2) measure scattering particle size distributions in the micron range; and 3) visualize the retina through a dense cataract. The techniques have been successfully tested on simulated eyes and are being used on animal eyes in vivo. Another application discussed is the extension of the ultrafast gating technique to picosecond X-ray cinematography.