Linear optical coherence tomography system with a downconverted fringe pattern

Linear optical coherence tomography (LOCT) systems are a simple and robust alternative to time-domain optical coherence tomography systems, but a detector with approximately 10(4) pixels is needed for an imaging depth of 2 mm. We present a new system for LOCT with a special mask attached to the image sensor. The mask essentially performs a downconversion of the spatial frequencies by multiplication with a second spatial frequency. This reduces the fringe frequency of the optical coherence tomography signal so that the signal can be sampled with fewer pixels.     

Holographic data storage with arbitrarily misaligned data pages

An improved postprocessing algorithm that can compensate for arbitrary misregistrations between a detector array and the coherent image of a pixelated two-dimensional data page is described. Previously [Opt. Lett. 26, 542 (2001)], an algorithm was reported in which both linear and quadratic interpixel cross-talk contributions are reallocated to the appropriate neighboring pixels. However, page misalignments close to +/-0.5 pixels could not be corrected to an acceptable bit-error rate because of propagation in the iterative procedure. An improved algorithm is reported in which an intentional magnification error is introduced optically and then corrected during postprocessing. Experimental results from a pixel-matched megapel volume holographic system are presented, showing that the dependence of bit-error rate on transverse detector alignment is entirely removed. This improved procedure can completely bypass constraints on page registration, optical distortion, and material shrinkage that currently hamper page-oriented holographic storage systems.     

Endoscopic optical coherence tomography based on a microelectromechanical mirror

An endoscopic optical coherence tomography (OCT) system based on a microelectromechanical mirror to facilitate lateral light scanning is described. The front-view OCT scope, adapted to the instrument channel of a commercial endoscopic sheath, allows real-time cross-sectional imaging of living biological tissue via direct endoscopic visual guidance. The transverse and axial resolutions of the OCT scope are roughly 20 and 10.2mum, respectively. Cross-sectional images of 500x1000 pixels covering an area of 2.9 mmx2.8 mm can be acquired at ~5 frames/s and with nearly 100-dB dynamic range. Applications in thickness measurement and bladder tissue imaging are demonstrated.     

In vivo non-mechanical scanning grating-generated optical coherence tomography using an InGaAs digital camera

We demonstrated in vivo cross-sectional imaging of human fingers by non-mechanical scanning optical coherence tomography (OCT), using a diffracted light as the reference beam and a linear illumination beam at a center wavelength of 1.3 μm for deeper penetration into biological tissues. By applying the three-step phase-shifting method, our system can measure OCT images at 10 frames/s with a sensitivity of 90 dB for a 2.45 × 4.80 mm (axial × lateral) measurement range using an InGaAs digital camera (320 × 256 pixels).     

Analysis and study of the interlaced encoding pixels in Hadamard transform spectral imager based on DMD

The key innovation in Hadamard transform spectral imager (HTSI) introduced recently is the use of digital micro-mirror device (DMD) to encode spectral information. However, because the size of individual micro-mirrors does not match the detector pixel size or for other unavoidable errors in the optical design and the system assembling, an interlaced encoding phenomenon appears on some pixels of the encoded images obtained from the detector. These interlaced encoding pixels are not encoded based on Hadamard transform, so they should be processed specially in spectrum recovery. This paper analyzes the interlaced encoding phenomenon and proposes a positioning method and a decoding method for the interlaced encoding pixels on the encoded images. In our experiment, we direct a beam of laser into our HTSI and fill the entire field of view; by observing the column vector, which is made up of the gray values of a pixel on the encoded images from the detector in sequence, the interlaced encoding pixels can be distinguished easily and a coefficient is obtained simultaneously, which denotes the ratio of the area between the left part and the right part of the interlaced encoding pixel. By substituting the coefficient and the encoded gray values of the interlaced pixel into its encoding equation, we can recover the spectral elements of the interlaced pixel with ease. By comparing the spectral curve of the interlaced encoding pixels recovered by the method mentioned in this paper and the spectral curves of its two adjacent pixels, we find the decoding results are quite effective.     

Quadrature fringes wide-field optical coherence tomography and its applications to biological tissues

We propose and demonstrate quadrature fringes wide-field optical coherence tomography (QF WF OCT) to expand an optical Hilbert transformation to two-dimensions. This OCT simultaneously measures two quadrature interference images using a single InGaAs CCD camera to obtain en face OCT images. The axial and lateral resolutions are measured at 29 μm in air and 70 μm limited by a pixel size of camera using a superluminescent diode with a wavelength of 1.3 μm as the light source; the system sensitivity is determined to be −90 dB. The area of the en face OCT images is 4.0 mm × 4.0 mm (160 × 160  pixels). The OCT images are measured axially with steps of 10 μm. The en face OCT images of a in vivo human fingertip and a in situ rat brain are three-dimensionally measured up to the depth of about 3 mm with some degradations of a lateral resolution.     

Simulation of photodetection using finite-difference time-domain method with application to near-field subwavelength imaging based on nanoscale semiconductor photodetector array

Simulation of detecting photoelectrons using multi-level multi-electron (MLME) finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method with an application to near-field subwavelength imaging based on semiconductor nanophotodetector (NPD) array is reported. The photocurrents from the photodiode pixels are obtained to explore the resolution of this novel NPD device for subwavelength imaging. One limiting factor of the NPD device is the optical power coupling between adjacent detector pixels. We investigate such power coupling in the presence of absorbing media as well as the spatial distributions of the electric field and photoelectron density using the MLME FDTD simulation. Our results show that the detection resolution is about one tenth of the operating wavelength, which is comparable to that of a near-field scanning optical microscope based on metal clad tapered fiber.     

Non-iterative spot center location algorithm based on Gaussian for fish-eye imaging laser warning system

The directional accuracy of threaten laser is highly dependent on the laser spot center location accuracy for the laser warning system. On the basis of analyzing the spot features on wide field of view (FOV) fish-eye imaging laser warning system, a refinement of existing methodology based on fitting a 2D Gaussian distribution for estimating the center of the spot is developed. The proposed procedure is using a linear least squares based algorithm to determine the best-fitting parameters of the Gaussian. However, in contrast to the standard Gaussian Fitting procedure, this new scheme gives rise to equations that are rigorously linear in the transformed unknown parameters which can be solved easily by linear least squares estimators. To validate the accuracy of the proposed algorithms, experimental approaches with a type of laser warning detector and simulated threaten laser in laboratory are used to quantify its performance. The experimental results show that this method outperforms significantly the commonly used location technique. It is less susceptible to the non-100% fill ratio of CMOS and large unsymmetrical optical aberration of fish-eye lens. The positioning precision in paraxial region and 80° incident angle region are 1/60 pixels, 1/30 pixels respectively. The biggest error is less than 1/20 pixels. The proposed method is suitable for wide FOV laser warning system for high accuracy and low computational complexity.     

Low-voltage polymer-based scanning cantilever for in vivo optical coherence tomography

Novel hand-held optical coherence tomography (OCT) probes with polymer cantilevers have been developed for clinical oral and skin imaging. An electroactive ionic polymer-metal composite cantilever was used to generate 3-mm transverse scanning movement of an optical fiber with applied 2-V linear alternating voltage at 1 Hz. Low driving voltage ensures safety. Two different optical designs achieve both forward and sidewise scanning and make it possible to image everywhere within the human oral cavity. In vivo OCT imaging of the human tongue is demonstrated.     

Electrostatic micromachine scanning mirror for optical coherence tomography

Compact electrostatic micromirror structures for use in the scanning arm of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system are described. These devices consist of millimeter-scale mirrors resting upon micrometer-scale polyimide hinges that are tilted by a linear micromachine actuator, the integrated force array (IFA). The IFA is a network of deformable capacitor cells that electrostatically contract with an applied voltage. The support structures, hinges, and actuators are fabricated by photolithography from polyimide-upon-silicon wafers. These devices were inserted into the scanning arm of an experimental OCT imaging system to produce in vitro and in vivo images at frame rates of 4 to 8 Hz.     

A surface plasmonic coupled mid-long-infrared two-color quantum cascade detector

A novel mid-long-infrared two-color photodetector is proposed. It combines quantum cascade detector (QCD) and surface plasmonic coupling structure. The reflection spectrum and electric field are analyzed by algorithm of finite difference time domain method (FDTD). This QCD is sensitive to 4.4 μm and 9.0 μm infrared light. Mid-infrared and long-infrared pixels are interlaced arranged with specific plasmonic micro-cavity structures integrated. 7.1 and 7 times enhancement in optical absorption are obtained for mid-infrared and long-infrared pixels, respectively. Besides, a polarization-discriminating detection performance has been observed.     

Noncontact photoacoustic imaging achieved by using a low-coherence interferometer as the acoustic detector

We report on a noncontact photoacoustic imaging (PAI) technique in which a low-coherence interferometer [(LCI), optical coherence tomography (OCT) hardware] is utilized as the acoustic detector. A synchronization approach is used to lock the LCI system at its highly sensitive region for photoacoustic detection. The technique is experimentally verified by the imaging of a scattering phantom embedded with hairs and the blood vessels within a mouse ear in vitro. The system's axial and lateral resolutions are evaluated at 60 and 30?μm, respectively. The experimental results indicate that PAI in a noncontact detection mode is possible with high resolution and high bandwidth. The proposed approach lends itself to a natural integration of PAI with OCT, rather than a combination of two separate and independent systems.     

Subtractive imaging in confocal scanning microscopy using a CCD camera as a detector

We report a scheme for the detector system of confocal microscopes in which the pinhole and a large-area detector are substituted by a CCD camera. The numerical integration of the intensities acquired by the active pixels emulates the signal passing through the pinhole. We demonstrate the imaging capability and the optical sectioning of the system. Subtractive-imaging confocal microscopy can be implemented in a simple manner, providing superresolution and improving optical sectioning.     

大视场高分辨率显微工业电视镜头设计

随着CMOS、CCD探测器的广泛应用及其分辨率的不断提高，人们对电视镜头的分辨率提出了更高的要求。将显微工业电视镜头成像原理与传统显微镜进行了比较，并利用光学设计软件ZEMAX进行光学效果的模拟，给出了数值孔径为0．08，光学放大倍数为1，焦距为38mm，视场直径为8mm，全视场角为10°，分辨率为200万像素的光学系统设计结果。所设计的显微工业电视镜头可用于工业生产检测。     

非制冷高变倍比连续变焦光学系统的设计

针对长波非制冷氧化钒320240像元焦平面阵列探测器,像元间距25 m25 m,采用变焦距光学系统设计原理,引入非球面和衍射面设计技术进行像差平衡,设计了长波红外连续变焦光学系统。该系统工作波段为8 m～12 m,视场为2.86～50连续可变,F数为1.2,变倍比为18∶1,在整个变焦范围内,光学调制传递函数在0.5以上,接近衍射极限,并且全视场能量70％集中在探测器的一个像元内。整个变焦光学系统仅使用一种红外材料(单晶锗)进行像差矫正。     

Faraday mirror-typed optical current transformers and its theoretical analysis

A Faraday mirror-typed optical current transformer (OCT) design with turn-back optical paths is proposed to overcome the harmful effects of the linear birefringence inside bulk glass current sensing head, which can double the sensitivity and improve the state of polarization of the system output. The theoretical analysis of the working principle, the simulation of the polarization state of the output light beam and the comparison between it and the OCT with polarization preserving total reflection (PPTR) layers are presented. The results show that this design has a good suppressing effect on the degeneration of the polarization state of the output light, which has certain reference significance on the performance improvement of the present bulk glass OCT, and the development of practical OCTs.     

光源对相干层析系统特性的影响

在分析相干层析系统成像机理的基础上，从理论上研究了光源对系统成像特性的影响，在考虑干涉条纹的强度用概率函数处理的条件下，由分析得出相干层析成像系统相当于一个复振幅的线性空间不变系统，从而给出相干函数和光源的功率谱密度之间的关系。通过对使用不同光源的系统相干传递函数比较，得出了采用具有较大线宽的低相干光源，系统的空间分辨率更好，可使测量更精确的结论。本文的工作为光学相干层析成像系统的优化设计提供了理论依据。     

Compensation for pixel misregistration in volume holographic data storage

We describe what we believe to be a novel postprocessing algorithm for compensating for misregistrations between a detector array and the coherent image of a pixelated two-dimensional data page. A lookup table of baseline local offsets is combined with the dynamically measured global offset of the received data page, producing an estimate of the total lateral shift of each small block of pixels. A serial algorithm then reallocates the appropriate portion of the signal detected by each pixel to its neighbors, accounting for both the linear and the quadratic contributions introduced by coherent illumination of square-law detectors. This procedure can relax the tight constraints on page registration, optical distortion, and material shrinkage that currently hamper page-oriented holographic storage systems. Experimental results from a pixel-matched 1-Mpixel volume holographic system are presented, showing an increase in position tolerance (for a raw bit-error rate <10(-3)) from +/-16% to +/-40% of the pixel pitch.     

光学电流互感器中线性双折射与法拉第效应的分离检测

分析了线性双折射对光学电流互感器(OCT)电压输出的影响,指出了差除和信号处理方案检测输出光信息的不完备性问题,用琼斯矩阵理论证明了差除和方案不能独立检测块状玻璃传感头中线性双折射的结论。提出了光学电流互感器的椭偏检测方案,从椭圆偏振光参量方程出发,推导了温致线性双折射、法拉第旋转角与输出椭圆偏振光椭率、倾角之间的解析式,证明了椭偏检测法对输出光信息检测的完备性,实现了温致线性双折射和待测电流的同时测量。为保证实时性,提出了输出椭圆光的三态检测方案,采用水平、垂直和45°三个偏振态的实时检偏,既克服了线性双折射的影响又实现了待测电流的实时测量,从检测原理上解决了温致线性双折射对光学电流互感器的影响。     

Applying LED in full-field optical coherence tomography for gastrointestinal endoscopy

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has become an important medical imaging technology due to its non-invasiveness and high resolution. Full-field optical coherence tomography (FF-OCT) is a scanning scheme especially suitable for en face imaging as it employs a CMOS/CCD device for parallel pixels processing. FF-OCT can also be applied to high-speed endoscopic imaging. Applying cylindrical scanning and a right-angle prism, we successfully obtained a 360° tomography of the inner wall of an intestinal cavity through an FF-OCT system with an LED source. The 10-μm scale resolution enables the early detection of gastrointestinal lesions, which can increase detection rates for esophageal, stomach, or vaginal cancer. All devices used in this system can be integrated by MOEMS technology to contribute to the studies of gastrointestinal medicine and advanced endoscopy technology.