Research Highlights
Hyungsik Lim1, Yi Jiang1, Yimin Wang1, Yu-Chih Huang1, and Zhongping Chen1, Frank W. Wise2
1Beckman Laser Institute and Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA
2Department of Applied Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
We report a compact, high-power, fiber-based source for ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) near 1 mm. 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 mm in air (,1.6 mm 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.
Fig. 1. Experimental configuration: YDFL, ytterbiumdoped fiber laser; YDFA, ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier; HWP, half-wave plate; ND, neutral-density filter; FS, fused-silica prisms; HR, high-reflector mirror; PD, InGaAs photodiode.
Fig. 2. Spectra of (a) the continuum from a PCF (solid curve), the output from the oscillator (dashed curve), and the amplified pulse (dotted curve) on logarithmic scales; (b) the continuum on a linear scale.
References
- D. Huang, E. A. Swanson, C. P. Lin, J. S. Schuman, W.G. Stinson, W. Chang, M. R. Hee, T. Flotte, K. Gregory,C. A. Puliafito, and J. G. Fujimoto, Science 254, 1178(1991).
- J. K. Ranka, R. S. Windeler, and A. J. Stentz, Opt.Lett. 25, 25 (2000).3. I. Hartl, X. D. Li, C. Chudoba, R. K. Ghanta, T. H. Ko,J. G. Fujimoto, J. K. Ranka, and R. S. Windeler, Opt.Lett. 26, 608 (2001).
- Y. Wang, Y. Zhao, J. S. Nelson, Z. Chen, and R. S.Windeler, Opt. Lett. 28, 182 (2003).
- S. Bourquin, A. D. Aguirre, I. Hartl, P. Hsiung, T. H.Ko, J. G. Fujimoto, T. A. Birks, W. J. Wadsworth, U.Bunting, and D. Kopf, Opt. Express 11, 3290 (2003), ttp://www.opticsexpress.org.
