Extended-cavity semiconductor wavelength-swept laser for biomedical imaging

Author

Yun, S.H. ; Boudoux, C. ; Pierce, M.C. ; De Boer, J.F. ; Tearney, G.J. ; Bouma, B.E.

Author_Institution

Harvard Med. Sch., Massachusetts Gen. Hosp., Boston, MA, USA

Volume

16

Issue

1

fYear

2004

Firstpage

293

Lastpage

295

Abstract

We demonstrate a compact high-power rapidly swept wavelength tunable laser source based on a semiconductor optical amplifier and an extended-cavity grating filter. The laser produces excellent output characteristics for biomedical imaging, exhibiting >4-mW average output power, <0.06-nm instantaneous linewidth, and >80-dB noise extinction with its center wavelength swept over 100 nm at 1310 nm at variable repetition rates up to 500 Hz.

Keywords

biomedical equipment; biomedical optical imaging; laser applications in medicine; laser cavity resonators; laser tuning; optical tomography; semiconductor optical amplifiers; 1310 nm; biomedical imaging; compact high-power laser; continuous-wave output; extended-cavity grating filter; noise extinction; optical coherence tomography; rapidly swept wavelength tunable laser; ring-cavity geometry; semiconductor optical amplifier; single-transverse mode output; spectrally encoded confocal microscope; variable repetition rates; Biomedical imaging; Biomedical optical imaging; Gratings; Laser noise; Optical filters; Power generation; Power lasers; Semiconductor lasers; Semiconductor optical amplifiers; Tunable circuits and devices;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1041-1135

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/LPT.2003.820096

Filename

1256029