Development of Ultra-Broadband Light Source Using Fiber Raman Laser for Optical Coherence Tomography

We describe the operational characteristics of ultra-broadband light source using fiber Raman laser for the application to optical coherence tomography. Broad band output was obtained from a 500-m-long single-mode P-doped SiO2 optical fiber pumped by a broadband Ti: sapphire laser. The output spectrum covering from 800 nm to 1600 nm was obtained. When a white-light Michelson interferometer was constructed using the fiber Raman laser as a light source, a longitudinal spatial resolution of 1.7 μm was achieved.