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.     

A combined multiple-SLED broadband light source at 1300 nm for high resolution optical coherence tomography

We demonstrate a compact, inexpensive, and reliable fiber-coupled light source with broad bandwidth and sufficient power at 1300 nm for high resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging in real-time applications. By combining four superluminescent diodes (SLEDs) with different central wavelengths, the light source has a bandwidth of 145 nm centered at 1325 nm with over 10 mW of power. OCT images of an excised stage 30 embryonic chick heart acquired with our combined SLED light source (<5 μm axial resolution in tissue) are compared with images obtained with a single SLED source (∼10 μm axial resolution in tissue). The high resolution OCT system with the combined SLED light source provides better image quality (smaller speckle noise) and a greater ability to observe fine structures in the embryonic heart.     

Optical probe using eccentric optics for optical coherence tomography

We propose and demonstrate an OCT optical probe using eccentric optics. This probe enabled both forward imaging and side imaging by dividing a circular scanning area into two semicircular scanning areas using an external motor to rotate the flexible tube. The outer diameter of the probe was 2.6 mm, and its rigid portion length was 10 mm. The lateral resolution was 23 μm, and the eccentric radius was 1.1 mm. The circumferential length in scanning was 6.9 mm, and the working distance was 5 mm. OCT images of 1.5 mm × 6.9 mm (in tissue, axial × circumference), including forward image and side image, were measured with the axial resolution of 19 μm in air and a frame rate of one frame per second. The epidermis, dermis, and sweat gland of in vivo human ventral finger tips were observed.     

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).     

A new imaging method for gold-surface adsorbates based on anomalous reflection

A new imaging method is proposed for ultrathin films with a thickness of a few nanometers, based on the anomalous reflection (AR) of gold. In the AR effect, the reflectivity fairly decreases for blue or purple light (380 nm < λ < 480 nm) with the existence of a transparent dielectric layer at a gold surface. Thus, a thin gold film can be used as an imaging platform. Clear AR images are obtained for a microarray of protein (avidin) spots of diameter 120 μm with gaps of size 50 μm between the spots (36 spots/mm²). The resolution of the AR imaging is governed solely by the illumination spot size. AR imaging is a promising technique for high throughput analysis of biomolecular detection in a microarray format.     

Stroboscopic XMCD-PEEM imaging of standing and propagating spinwave modes in permalloy thin-film structures

Using synchrotron-based stroboscopic photoemission electron microscopy with X-ray circular dichroism as contrast method, we have investigated the high-frequency response of permalloy thin-film structures. Standing precessional modes have been studied in rectangular elements (16 × 32 μm², 10 nm thick) with a high time resolution of about 15 ps in the low-α mode of BESSY. With increasing amplitude of the applied magnetic AC field the particle is driven from an initial symmetric Landau flux-closure state into an asymmetric state and finally into a single-domain state magnetized perpendicular to the applied field H_AC. The electromagnetic microwave field thus can induces a net magnetization in a small particle. This behaviour is a result of the constant throughput of energy (open system) that allows for an increase of local order, contrary to the usual increase on entropy in closed systems. A propagating spinwave in an ultrathin elliptical particle (semi axes 6 × 12 μm², 3 nm thick) was observed in a snapshot series with 25 ps time increment. The phase front of the spinwave with large precessional angle (bright contrast) propagates with a velocity of 8100 m/s, i.e. much faster than typical domain wall velocities in permalloy.     

Non-destructive quantification of pharmaceutical tablet coatings using terahertz pulsed imaging and optical coherence tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and terahertz pulsed imaging (TPI) are two powerful techniques allowing high quality cross-sectional images from within scattering media to be obtained non-destructively. In this paper, we report experimental results of using OCT and TPI for quantitatively characterizing pharmaceutical tablet coatings in the thickness range of 10-140 μm. We found that the spectral OCT system developed in-house has an axial resolution of 0.9 μm, and is capable of quantifying very thin coatings in the range of 10-60 μm. The upper limit of 60 μm within the tablet coating and core is owed to the strong scattering of OCT light, which has relatively short wavelengths in the range of 0.5-1.0 μm. On the other hand, TPI utilizes terahertz radiation that has substantially long wavelengths in the range of hundreds of microns, and thus is less prone to the scattering problem. Consequently TPI has been demonstrated to be able to quantify thicker coatings in the range of 40-140 μm and beyond. We concluded that OCT and TPI are two complementary analytical techniques for non-destructive and quantitative characterization of pharmaceutical tablet coatings.     

A novel dispersion-shifted single mode optical fiber design with ultra-high-bit-rate and very low loss for long-haul communications

In this paper, a novel dispersion-shifted multi-clad optical fiber with very small bending loss and ultra-high bit-rate applicable for large capacity information transmission systems is presented. To decrease dispersion and higher-order dispersion effects at λ = 1.55 μm, a weighted pulse broadening factor and genetic algorithm (GA) optimization technique is used. Compared to the works reported previously, this method can precisely set the zero-dispersion wavelength. This kind of dispersion-shifted fibers has dispersion, dispersion slope, mode field diameter (MFD), effective area and quality factor within −1.40 × 10⁻⁴ to −8.44 × 10⁻² ps/km nm, 3.06 × 10⁻² to −4.07 × 10⁻² ps/km nm², 5.56−5.85 μm, 119.25−176.42 μm² and 3.49-5.27 at λ = 1.55 μm, respectively. Besides, by applying dispersion at λ = 1.55 μm as the cost function, dispersion of about 1.31 × 10⁻⁸ ps/km nm is obtained. Thus, this novel optical fiber can be used in long-haul high information-transmission capacity communication systems.     

Phase-matched third-harmonic UV generation using low-order modes in a glass micro-fiber

We observe phase-matched third-harmonic generation at 355 nm in a low-order mode of a sub-micron diameter glass fiber. The third-harmonic signal exhibits a sharp resonance for a fiber diameter d = 0.49 ± 0.02 μm, in excellent agreement with the value d = 0.506 μm predicted by theory. The third-harmonic conversion efficiency is 2 × 10⁻⁶, and is limited by the pump power (1 kW) and effective fiber length (100 μm).     

Investigation of a biofunctional polymeric coating deposited onto silicon microcantilevers

The paper deals with an appealing route to activate silicon microcantilevers (90, 110 and 130 μm long, 35 μm wide and 2 μm thick) for specific binding of biochemical species. The method consists in coating the underivatized microcantilevers with a biofunctional copolymer (based on N,N-dimethylacrylamide bearing silanating moieties) that was developed for low-density microarray assays on microscope glass slides. Coating deposition was obtained by dip-coating and its microstructure investigated by analyzing the resonance frequency values of bare and coated microcantilevers, by SEM and SFM imaging, SFM tip-scratch tests and XRR experiments. Results indicate that the coating is 2.5 nm thick and has a density of 1.22 g/cm³. The coating surface is nanostructured, displaying nanoblobs, which are from few up to 20 nm wide and, on average, 1.6 nm high. The diameter of the biggest nanoblobs is of the same order of magnitude of the gyration radius of the copolymer chains, suggesting that nanoblobs may identify individual macromolecules.     

A grating-based optical readout method for microcantilever biosensor

For measuring the deflections of the microcantilever biosensor, a reflective grating microcantilevers based on SOI were designed and fabricated, a high precision optical readout approach based on diffraction spectrum balancing feedback control was presented. The diffraction spectrum image was collected by a 12-bit digital area array monochrome CCD. According to the sum gray value of the image which subtracted each other at the balancing position and bending position to control a high precision motorized rotation stage revolve make the sum gray value remained in the balancing position always, then the motorized rotation stage revolving angle is just the cantilever bend angle. The resolution of motorized rotation stage is 35 × 10⁻⁶ deg, the system practical measurement resolution is 1 × 10⁻⁴ deg, that is to say, for a length of 250 μm microcantilever, the tip measure resolution is up to 0.043 nm. Measurement results clearly demonstrate that this reflective grating microcantilever biosensor and this read out method have a great potential for biological and chemical applications.     

Demonstration of a no-moving-parts axial scanning confocal microscope using liquid crystal optics

For the first time, to the best of authors’ knowledge, a no-moving-parts axial scanning confocal microscope (ASCM) system is designed and demonstrated using a combination of a large diameter liquid crystal (LC) lens and a classical microscope objective lens. By electrically controlling the 5 mm diameter LC lens, the 633 nm wavelength focal spot is moved continuously over a 48 μm range with a measured 3-dB axial resolution of 3.1 μm using a 0.65 numerical aperture (NA) micro-objective lens. The ASCM is successfully used to image an Indium Phosphide (InP) twin square optical waveguide sample with a 10.2 μm waveguide pitch and 2.3 μm height and width. Using fine analog electrical control of the LC lens, a super-fine sub-wavelength axial resolution of 270 nm is demonstrated. The proposed ASCM can be useful in various precision three-dimensional (3D) imaging and profiling applications.     

Femtosecond laser embedded grating micromachining of flexible PDMS plates

We report on the femtosecond laser micromachining of photo-induced embedded diffraction grating in flexible Poly (Dimethly Siloxane) (PDMS) plates using a high-intensity femtosecond (130 fs) Ti: sapphire laser (λ_p = 800 nm). The refractive index modifications with diameters ranging from 2 μm to 5 μm were photo-induced after the irradiation with peak intensities of more than 1 × 10¹¹ W/cm². The graded refractive index profile was fabricated to be a symmetric around from the center of the point at which femtosecond laser was focused. The maximum refractive index change (Δn) was estimated to be 2 × 10⁻³. By the X-Y-Z scanning of sample, the embedded diffraction grating in PDMS plate was fabricated successfully using a femtosecond laser.     

Dental fiber-reinforced composite analysis using optical coherence tomography

An optical coherence tomography (OCT) system with 6 μm spatial resolution was employed to image the sites of fracture initiation and slow crack propagation in a fiber reinforced composite. Bar specimens (2 mm × 3 mm × 25 mm) of fiber reinforced composite were mechanically and thermally cycled to emulate oral conditions. The interior of the samples were analyzed prior and after the emulations. We analyzed the specimens that were intact after the loading cycling. The results demonstrated the capacity of the OCT technique to generate images of the sites fracture initiation, crack propagation, and regions surrounding the fracture, and it can be used in the future for quantitative analysis thus complementing other existing methods, with the main advantage of being non-destructive and non-invasive.     

Three-dimensional wide-field optical coherence tomography using an ultrahigh-speed CMOS camera

We demonstrated wide-field optical coherence tomography (OCT) using an ultrahigh-speed CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) camera. We obtained en face OCT images (512 × 512 pixels) at 1500 frames per second by calculating two sequential images. Three-dimensional imaging was achieved by switching the illumination on and off at the same frequency as the beat signal generated by the axial scan in the reference arm to avoid decreasing the interference components in the camera output. A sample volume of 2.6 × 2.6 × 1.2 (x × y × z) mm³ (corresponding to 512 × 512 × 375 pixels) was imaged in 0.25 s in a single axial scan in the reference arm. We successfully imaged the human finger in vivo with a sensitivity of 73 dB, after 10 × 10 pixel averaging.     

Circular and rectangular via holes formed in SiC via using ArF based UV excimer laser

Circular via holes with diameters of 10, 25, 50 and 70 μm and rectangular via holes with dimensions of 10 μm × 100 μm, 20 μm × 100 μm and 30 μm × 100 μm and drilled depths between 105 and 110 μm were formed in 300 μm thick bulk 4H-SiC substrates by Ar/F₂ based UV laser drilling (λ = 193 nm) with a pulse width of ∼30 ns and a pulse frequency of 100 Hz. The drilling rate was linearly proportional to the fluence of the laser, however, the rate decreased for the larger via holes. The laser drilling produces much higher etch rates (229-870 μm/min) than conventional dry etching (0.2-1.3 μm/min) and the via entry can be tapered to facilitate subsequent metallization.     

Wavelength division multiplexed confocal microscopy using supercontinuum

We investigate both theoretically and experimentally wavelength division multiplexed confocal imaging by using white light supercontinuum. We show that with the optimized pinhole diameter an axial resolution of 0.75 μm and detection efficiency of 80% can be achieved. In addition, we applied the axial WDM confocal system to 3D surface measurement and the result agreed well with that measured by commercially available surface profilometer. The measured sensitivity of the system is 3.25 nm. Finally, we demonstrated lateral confocal imaging by using supercontinuum. An effective lateral scanning range of 130 μm was obtained.     

Writing low-loss waveguides in borosilicate (BK7) glass with a low-repetition-rate femtosecond laser

Borosilicate glass (BK7) is a widely-used material in integrated optics devices and in the optical communications industry. We report on laser-written waveguiding in BK7 glass using a low-repetition-rate (1 kHz) laser producing 40 fs pulses of 800 nm light. A 500 μm slit is used to write structures 100 μm below the glass surface. These waveguides show strong guidance at 635 nm, with an index contrast of 3 × 10^− 4 and a propagation loss of ~ 0.5 dB/cm. We measured the change in refractive index for a range of writing conditions as quantified in terms of energy dose; there is an energy dose window (> 0.6 μJ μm^− 3 and < 1.5 μJ μm^− 3) within which the written structures show guidance.     

Real-time optical imaging and tracking of micron-sized particles

We report real-time imaging and dynamics monitoring of micrometer predefined and random sized particles by time-space-wavelength mapping technology using a single-detector. Experimentally, we demonstrate real-time line imaging of a 5 μm polystyrene microsphere, glass powder particles and patterns such as fingerprints with up to 5 μm resolution at 1 line/50 ns capture rate. By using the same setup, real-time displacement tracking of micrometer-size glass particles with 50 ns temporal resolution and up to 5 μm spatial resolution is achieved. We also show that existing correlation spectroscopy algorithms can be adopted to extract dynamic information in a complex environment.     

Optical Coherence Tomography Implemented by Photonic Crystal Fiber

We report a photonic crystal fiber (PCF)-based optical coherence tomography (OCT) system, in which conventional single-mode fiber for the transmission line and the fiber coupler for the beam splitter/combiner are replaced with PCF and PCF coupler. The PCF coupler fabricated using the fused biconical tapered (FBT) method showed a nearly flat coupling ratio over a broad spectral bandwidth of 400 nm, which provided an axial resolution of 3-μm for OCT imaging. With a white-light source, the 8-μm thick air gap between two stacked cover glasses was measured, and with a conventional superluminecent diode (SLD) source, the in vitro images of rat eye and Misgurnus mizolepis skin were successfully obtained. The PCF and PCF coupler might enable a white-light as the source for the cost effective and high-resolution OCT system.