We develop a 1.7-μm optical coherence tomography (OCT) system using a broadband light source based on superluminescent diodes (SLDs) and investigated the possibility of plaque detection by a spectroscopic OCT (S-OCT)
method. The SLD-based light source realizes an output power about 20mW and a 3-dB bandwidth over 120nm for
optimization of driving current in each SLD. Regarding performance of the 1.7-μm spectral-domain OCT system with
the light source, the system sensitivity is 104dB in maximum at the A-scan rate of 47kHz, which is fifty times as high as
that in the previous study with a super-continuum light source. Moreover, we perform visualization of lipid distribution
at the A-scan frame of 47kHz by an in-vitro artery model which is made of a piece of porcine coronary artery and a lardfilled
nylon tube as a plaque phantom. We confirm that the sensitivity and specificity between artery and plaque area in
optimal condition for lipid detection at a specific frame image is over 90% and there are high lipid scores at the inside of
plaque phantom in other frame images at the same condition. It indicates the possibility of plaque detection in
intravascular OCT.
We have successfully demonstrated white-light continuum (WLC) generation in the near-infrared (NIR) region from 1.1 μm to 2.5 μm using specially designed highly nonlinear optical fibers. A passively mode-locked diode-pumped Er:Yb:glass laser with a semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror (SESAM) successfully generates femtosecond pulses with about 90 mW average output power, which is sufficient to produce the WLC with over 40 mW power without any additional optical amplification. This WLC source is expected to be suitable for many applications, such as laser radar systems and optical gas sensing.
Recent evolution of silica-based nonlinear fibers and their applications are reviewed. Important design issues of the fiber in order to enhance the nonlinearity and tailor the dispersion performance are discussed. In addition, recent demonstration results such as ultra-broadband wavelength conversion and supercontinuum generation experiments are also introduced in this paper.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.