Title :
Wavelength-Tunable Broadband Frequency-Domain OCT Source Based on Spatially Filtered Sub-10-fs Pulsed Laser
Author :
Eom, Tae Joong ; Sung, Jae Hee ; Kee, Chul-Sik ; Ko, Do-Kyeong ; Lee, Jongmin ; Choi, Eun Seo
Author_Institution :
Adv. Photonics Res. Inst., Gwangju Inst. of Sci. & Technol., Gwangju
fDate :
6/15/2008 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
A wavelength swept broadband source based on a sub-10-femtosecond (fs) pulse laser and a spatial filtering method was developed for the application to frequency-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT). The use of the sub-10-fs laser with a galvano scanner operating at a high repetition rate provided a fast tunable broadband light source, which tuned the spectral component across the spectral bandwidth of 110 nm at 1-kHz repetition rate. The spectrally filtered light beam had 0.5-nm instantaneous spectral linewidths at 1-mW average output power. The implemented FD-OCT system clearly imaged a narrow air gap between glass plates with an axial resolution of 5 mum, which proved a potential for the application of a short pulse laser source to the FD-OCT system. The proposed wavelength swept source scheme can secure mode-hopping-free operation at fast tuning speed, which could be applicable for the FD-OCT system properly.
Keywords :
high-speed optical techniques; optical tomography; spatial filters; frequency-domain optical coherence tomography; mode-hopping-free operation; spatial filtering; sub-10-femtosecond pulse laser; wavelength-tunable broadband source; Bandwidth; Coherence; Filtering; Laser beams; Laser tuning; Light sources; Optical filters; Optical pulses; Tomography; Tunable circuits and devices; Biomedical optical imaging; femtosecond (fs) pulse laser; optical tomography; optical tunable filter; spatial filter;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/LPT.2008.923768