双光栅快速扫描光学延迟线的色散补偿

光学相干层析成像(OCT)系统的纵向分辨力不仅与光源的带宽有关,而且与系统中两干涉臂间的色散匹配有关。如果色散没有得到精确匹配,将使光学相干层析成像系统的纵向分辨力达不到所预期的理论值。色散问题在超高分辨光学相干层析成像系统中尤为突出。提出了一种基于双光栅快速扫描光学延迟线(RSOD),用于光学相干层析成像系统的色散补偿。该方法中新增的光栅引入了光栅间距这一独立变量,其与常规单光栅快速扫描光学延迟线机构中的光栅离焦量一起,可使光学相干层析成像系统中的群速度色散(GVD)和三阶色散(TOD)同时得到补偿。分析了双光栅快速扫描光学延迟线的色散特性和色散调节原则,并提供了一个典型光学相干层析成像系统中的色散补偿实例。     

Ultra-High Resolution Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Using a Halogen Lamp as the Light Source

The axial resolution of optical coherence tomography (OCT) is determined by the coherence length of the light source. We demonstrate for the first time high-resolution OCT of biological tissue using a halogen lamp as the light source for a low coherence interferometer. High-resolution OCT imaging with 3.5 μm resolution was performed successfully for onion and porcine skin, although the coherence light power for illumination of a sample is as small as 100 nW.     

利用变迹术和相干门相结合实现光学相干层析成像术轴向超分辨

光学相十层析成像（光学相干层析成像术）的轴向分辨力由光源带宽和探测光束的聚焦条件共同决定。提高光学相干层析成像术轴向分辨力的方法主要基于带宽光源技术。提出了一种将变迹术与光学相十层析成像术相干门有机结合的方法来提高其轴向分辨力。通过适当形式的光瞳滤波器．使光学相干层析成像术系统轴向响应的主瓣宽度缩小到相干门之内,而其旁瓣则处于相干门之外．不对相干成像产生有效贡献。这样．就能在光源带宽不变的条件下,有效提高光学相十层析成像术的轴向分辨力,避免了采用宽带光源所带来的费用昂贵和系统复杂等缺陷。     

一种新型的专用于光学相干层析系统的宽带光纤光源

报道了一种新型的专用于光学相干层析系统的输出光谱为准高斯型的宽带超荧光光纤光源.该光源采用掺饵光纤作为增益介质.其关键技术是在抽运源的输出端增加了光耦合器，并在光源输出端插入多级长周期光纤光栅对铒离子的自发光谱进行调制和整形；同时采用光控器和温控器来控制抽运源的输出以提高光源输出功率的稳定性.该光源的中心波长为1.57μm，输出光谱的3dB带宽大于75nm，输出功率为27mW.实验结果表明，该光源输出光谱的自相关函数的旁瓣峰被大大削弱，可以满足光学相干层析系统的应用. 关键词： 光学相干层析术 超荧光光纤光源 长周期光纤光栅 光耦合器     

Spatially incoherent illumination as a mechanism for cross-talk suppression in wide-field optical coherence tomography

Comparison of two illumination modes for wide-field optical coherence tomography has revealed that spatially coherent illumination generates coherent cross talk, causing significant image degradation, and that spatially incoherent illumination, with an adequate interferometer design, provides an efficient mechanism for suppression of coherent cross talk. This is shown by comparison of a pulsed laser with a thermal light source for a U.S. Air Force resolution target covered with a scattering solution made from microbeads as well as for an ex vivo tooth.     

Dual-core ytterbium fiber amplifier for high-power 1060 nm swept source multichannel optical coherence tomography imaging

A novel (to our knowledge) dual-core ytterbium (Yb(3+)) doped fiber, as an optically pumped amplifier, boosts the output power from a 1060 nm swept source laser beyond 250 mW, while providing a wavelength tuning range of 93 nm, for optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. The design of the dual-core Yb-doped fiber amplifier and its multiple wavelength optical pumping scheme to optimize output bandwidth are discussed. Use of the dual-core fiber amplifier showed no appreciable degradation to the coherence length of the seed laser. The signal intensity improvement of this amplifier is demonstrated on a multichannel in vivo OCT imaging system at 1060 nm.     

光学相干层析成像色散补偿研究

针对通过增加光源谱宽度来提高光学相干层析成像系统分辨率时样品色散特性的限制作用,分析了色散与光学相干层析成像系统纵向光程分辨率的约束关系.根据物质色散特性,采用数值变换方法对光学相干层析成像相干成像信号进行了色散补偿.实验使用了中心波长1 550 nm 自激发辐射光源和光纤迈克尓逊干涉结构,对水和光学快速扫描延迟线引入的二阶和三阶色散进行了数值补偿并通过相位修正因子来改善补偿效果.确定了一种普适的、快速的数值色散补偿方法.在对水中盖玻片和生物组织和的光学相干层析成像图像的色散补偿实验中取得了良好的效果,证明了方法的可行性.     

Thermal-light full-field optical coherence tomography

We have built a high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) system, based on a Linnik-type interference microscope, illuminated by a white-light thermal lamp. The extremely short coherence length of the illumination source and the large aperture of the objectives permit resolution close to 1 microm in three dimensions. A parallel detection scheme with a CCD camera provides cross-section (x-y) image acquisition without scanning at a rate of up to 50 Hz. To our knowledge, our system has the highest resolution demonstrated to date for OCT imaging. With identical resolution in three dimensions, realistic volume rendering of structures inside biological tissues is possible.     

Ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography with a fiber laser source at 1 microm

We report a compact, high-power, fiber-based source for ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) near 1 microm. The practical source is based on a short-pulse, ytterbium-doped fiber laser and on generation of a continuum spectrum in a photonic crystal fiber. The broadband emission has an average power of 140 mW and offers an axial resolution of 2.1 microm in air (<1.6 microm in biological tissue). The generation of a broad bandwidth is robust and efficient. We demonstrate ultrahigh-resolution, time-domain OCT imaging of in vitro and in vivo biological tissues.     

Broadband, low intensity noise CW source for OCT at 1800 nm

We report on an all-fiber CW supercontinuum source, based on erbium amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) source pumping dispersion-shifted highly nonlinear step-index silica fiber. As low as −120 dBc/Hz intensity noise of the near-Gaussian >200 nm bandwidth radiation was recorded. The source can enable micron-scale optical coherence tomography around the low-scatter 1800 nm region.     

Ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography using continuum generation in an air-silica microstructure optical fiber

We demonstrate ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) using continuum generation in an air-silica microstructure fiber as a low-coherence light source. A broadband OCT system was developed and imaging was performed with a bandwidth of 370 nm at a 1.3-mu;m center wavelength. Longitudinal resolutions of 2.5 microm in air and ~2 microm in tissue were achieved. Ultrahigh-resolution imaging in biological tissue in vivo was demonstrated.     

Neurosensory tissue morphology with intraoperative optical fiber probe in aqueous medium

In this work, the author has demonstrated cross-sectional imaging of a retina of an ex vivo fish sample using a common path frequency domain optical coherence tomography at 0.8 μm range. It has been introduced that an integrated surgical hypodermic needle fiber probe can stabilize the flexible glass optical fiber and provides a close proximity to the specimen for intraoperative image guiding. In addition, the light source characteristics were matched to the common path interferometer while operating in the aqueous medium (saline solution), in order to mimic the in vivo condition, in that it shows greater bandwidth and shorter center wavelength for larger input current or output power to sustain the appropriate level of coherence reference peak by the partial reflection at the glass fiber probe interface.     

Spectral shaping to improve the point spread function in optical coherence tomography

We demonstrate inhibition of the sidelobes of the axial point spread function in optical coherence tomography by shaping the power spectrum of the light source with a remaining power of 4.54 mW. A broadband amplified spontaneous emission source radiating at 1565 +/- 40 nm is employed in a free-space optical coherence tomography system. The axial point spread functions before and after optical spectral shaping are presented. Results show that spectral shaping of the source can inhibit sidelobes of the point spread function up to 12.9 dB, with an associated small increase of 2.2 dB in noise floor in the far field. The effect of spectral shaping on axial resolution is demonstrated according to three metrics. Image quality improvement is also illustrated with optical coherence tomography images of an onion before and after spectral shaping.     

Spatial and temporal coherence effects in interference microscopy and full‐field optical coherence tomography

Low‐coherence optical microscopy or optical coherence microscopy uses light with short coherence length. The well‐known case is: “white‐light interferometry”, which became recently more known as: “optical coherence tomography”. However, when lenses and microscope objectives are used to create interferometric images, in what is known classically as “interference microscopy” or today as “full‐field optical coherence tomography” the spatial coherence starts to play a critical role. In this article the coherence effects in low‐coherence optical microscopy are reviewed. As this technology is becoming increasingly publicized due to its importance in three‐dimensional imaging, particularly of scattering biological media and optical metrology, the understanding of the fundamental physics behind it is essential. The interplay between longitudinal spatial coherence and temporal coherence and the effects associated with them are discussed in detail particularly when high numerical apertures are used. An important conclusion of this study is that a high‐contrast, high‐resolution system for imaging of multilayered samples is the one that uses narrowband illumination and high‐NA objectives with an index‐matching fluid. Such a system, when combined with frequency‐domain operation, can reveal nearly real‐time three‐dimensional images, and is thus competitive with confocal microscopy.     

Supercontinuum laser illumination applied to traditional optical flow imaging methods

The schlieren method of refractive flow visualization traditionally requires non-coherent illumination in order to avoid problems with coherent artifact noise and binary cutoff by the knife-edge. Related shadowgraph and Wollaston-prism schlieren-interferometer methods, however, work well with light sources of high spatial coherence. Here we apply a supercontinuum laser as a light source for these methods, providing spatially coherent white-light illumination. Excellent results are obtained with shadowgraphy and schlieren-interferometry, but the schlieren method still requires a modified cutoff in place of the traditional knife-edge for laser illumination. Once they become widely available, supercontinuum lasers will find frequent use in these optical instruments, especially the schlieren-interferometer.     

Micromachined array tip for multifocus fiber-based optical coherence tomography

High-resolution optical coherence tomography demands a large detector bandwidth and a high numerical aperture for real-time imaging, which is difficult to achieve over a large imaging depth. To resolve these conflicting requirements we propose a novel multifocus fiber-based optical coherence tomography system with a micromachined array tip. We demonstrate the fabrication of a prototype four-channel tip that maintains a 9-14-microm spot diameter with more than 500 microm of imaging depth. Images of a resolution target and a human tooth were obtained with this tip by use of a four-channel cascaded Michelson fiber-optic interferometer, scanned simultaneously at 8 kHz with geometric power distribution across the four channels.     

多模光纤产生用于大气光通信的部分相干光源

 克服大气湍流对近地大气光通信质量影响,可归结为在接收端的照明均匀化,而采用部分相干光照明则是提高照明均匀性的一种有效途径。提出利用多模光纤的模间色散产生一个具有部分相干光特性的合成光源的方法,分析了该光源的产生原理,表明光束发散角由光纤芯径和发射透镜的焦距决定,由模间色散产生的光程差越大,该合成光源的空间相干性越差。仿真结果表明形成1 mrad远场发散角的合成光源是可行的,因而适于在空间光通信中应用。     

Demonstration of dispersion-canceled quantum-optical coherence tomography

We present an experimental demonstration of quantum-optical coherence tomography. The technique makes use of an entangled twin-photon light source to carry out axial optical sectioning. It is compared to conventional optical coherence tomography. The immunity of the quantum version to dispersion, as well as a factor of 2 enhancement in resolution, is experimentally demonstrated.     

Simultaneous swept source optical coherence tomography of the anterior segment and retina using coherence revival

We report on an implementation of coherence revival-based heterodyne swept source optical coherence tomography that is capable of simultaneously imaging the anterior and posterior eye. A polarization-encoded sample arm was used to efficiently focus orthogonal polarizations on the anterior segment and retina. Depth encoding was achieved using coherence revival, which allows for multiple depths within a sample to be simultaneously imaged and frequency encoded by carefully controlling the optical pathlength of each sample path. This design is a significant step toward whole-eye optical coherence tomography (OCT), which would enable customized ray-traced modeling of patient eyes to improve refractive surgical interventions and eliminate optical artifacts in retinal OCT diagnostics. We demonstrated the feasibility of this system for in vivo imaging by simultaneously acquiring images of the anterior segments and retinas in healthy human volunteers.     

Apparent transfer function for partially coherent optical information processing

In this paper, the general formulations of the apparent transfer function for the partially coherent optical processor will be derived. Although these formulas show that the apparent transfer function is dependent upon the degree of spatial and temporal coherence, there is actually more variability in the spatial coherence. We note that the obtained formulas may also be used as a criterion in the selection of source size and spectral bandwidth of an incoherent light source. Thus a specific optical information processing operation can be carried out with an incoherent source.