Ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomography at two infrared wavelength regions using a single light source

Felix Spöler; Stefan Kray; Patrik Grychtol; Barbara Hermes; Jörg Bornemann; Michael Först; Heinrich Kurz

doi:10.1117/12.728494

11 July 2007 Ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomography at two infrared wavelength regions using a single light source

Felix Spöler, Stefan Kray, Patrik Grychtol, Barbara Hermes, Jörg Bornemann, Michael Först, Heinrich Kurz

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 6627, Optical Coherence Tomography and Coherence Techniques III; 662704 (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.728494
Event: European Conferences on Biomedical Optics, 2007, Munich, Germany

Abstract

An off-the-shelf turn-key supercontinuum light source based on a passively mode-locked fiber laser, a fiber amplifier and a highly nonlinear fiber is evaluated for its application in ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT). Two spectral bands - one red shifted and one blue shifted in reference to the wavelength of the fiber laser - are employed as low coherence sources in OCT. Usable spectral bandwidths exceed 300 nm centered either at 790 or 1340 nm, with corresponding coherence lengths of 1.2 and 2.6 μm, respectively. Optimization of the spectrum for simultaneous imaging at both spectral bands results in spectral bandwidths exceeding 200 nm for each band after filtering. A free-space OCT setup supporting the full spectral bandwidth is introduced which allows for ultrahigh resolution OCT imaging using both spectral bands simultaneously. Axial free space resolutions were measured to be less than 2 and 4 μm at 840 and 1230 nm, respectively. This approach combines ultrahigh resolution obtained at 840 nm with large penetration depths at 1230 nm. Frequency compounding of the OCT images can be used for speckle reduction while extracting spatially resolved spectroscopic features facilitates enhanced image contrast.

Citation Download Citation

Felix Spöler, Stefan Kray, Patrik Grychtol, Barbara Hermes, Jörg Bornemann, Michael Först, and Heinrich Kurz "Ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomography at two infrared wavelength regions using a single light source", Proc. SPIE 6627, Optical Coherence Tomography and Coherence Techniques III, 662704 (11 July 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.728494

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