Dual ultrahigh speed swept-source and time domain optical coherence tomography system using a time stretch laser and a KTN deflector

We present an ultrahigh-speed Swept Source Optical Coherence Tomography (SS-OCT) system that allows a volume rate of 400 Hz paired with a Time Domain (TD) subsystem. For the SS-OCT, a 40 MHz swept source is used, while for the TD-OCT, a broadband source. Both systems employ a scanning system that consists of a KTN scanner paired with a galvoscanner. The KTN crystal scans the beam laterally at 100 kHz. This allows B-scan OCT repetition rate, while with the galvoscanner 200 lines are obtained at 400 Hz in the en-face display of both SS-OCT and TD-OCT systems

400 Hz volume rate swept-source optical coherence tomography at 1060 nm using a KTN deflector

In this Letter, a swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) instrument employing an innovative scanning protocol for high-speed volumetric rate imaging is demonstrated. The optical source is a tunable laser based on a supercontinuum source pumped with femtosecond pulses, followed by a time-stretched delay fiber. The instrument is equipped with an ultra-fast lateral scanner, based on a KTN crystal, driven at 100 kHz. The paper proves the utility of combining an ultra-fast lateral scanner with an ultra-fast swept laser to provide A-scans at a repetition rate of 40 MHz and an unprecedented 3D-OCT volume acquisition rate of 400 Hz

10 MHz Swept-Source for Optical Coherence Tomography at 1050 nm

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a technology that allows non-invasive volume imaging with high resolution. The use of swept sources allowed a significant increase in imaging speed, shifting the speed limitation from the detector to the light source [1]. However, most of the current swept source designs use mechanical parts that have intrinsic speed and bandwidth limitations, translating to an axial resolution limitation for the OCT system. Therefore, the development of akinetic swept sources could lead to a further increase in speed and bandwidth. Most such sources have been demonstrated in the telecom band, due to the mature components that are low-cost and low-loss [2]. Due to the high absorption of water in this band that prevents biomedical applications, there is an interest in adapting such a swept source at 1060 nm central wavelength. We present a swept source with an 86 nm spectral bandwidth at full-width half maximum (FWHM), centered at 1050 nm, sweeping at 10 MHz. It is based on a combination of all-normal dispersion (ANDi) supercontinuum dynamics and optical time stretch to achieve a low-noise broadband high-speed swept source

80 MHz swept source operating at 1060 nm based on all-normal-dispersion supercontinuum generation for ultrahigh-speed optical coherence tomography

We present an akinetic swept-source based on all-normal-dispersion supercontinuum generation using a low-noise femtosecond laser. Its 80-MHz repetition-rate and 55-nm bandwidth centered at 1060-nm are suitable for fast optical coherence tomograph

Ultra-flat, low-noise, and linearly polarized fiber supercontinuum source covering 670–1390 nm

International audienceWe report an octave-spanning coherent supercontinuum (SC) fiber laser with excellent noise and polarization properties. This was achieved by pumping a highly birefringent all-normal dispersion photonic crystal fiber with a compact high-power ytterbium femtosecond laser at 1049 nm. This system generates an ultra-flat SC spectrum from 670 to 1390 nm with a power spectral density higher than 0.4 mW/nm and a polarization extinction ratio of 17 dB across the entire bandwidth. An average pulse-to-pulse relative intensity noise down to 0.54% from 700 to 1100 nm was measured and found to be in good agreement with numerical simulations. This highly stable broadband source could find strong potential applications in biomedical imaging and spectroscopy where an improved signal-to-noise ratio is essential