Optical coherence tomography implemented by photonic crystal fiber

• Published in: Optical and quantum electronics 2005-12, Vol.37 (13-15), p.1191-1198
• Main Authors: SEON YOUNG RYU, HAE YOUNG CHOI, NA, Jihoon, CHOI, Eunseo, YANG, Gil-Ho, BYEONG HA LEE
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Biological and medical sciences; Circuit properties; Electric, optical and optoelectronic circuits; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); General aspects, investigation technics, apparatus; Image reconstruction; tomography; Imaging and optical processing; Integrated optics. Optical fibers and wave guides; Medical imaging: general; Optical and optoelectronic circuits; Optical materials; Optics; Photonic bandgap materials; Physics; Tissues, organs and organisms biophysics
• ISSN: 0306-8919; 1572-817X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11082-005-4191-8

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-mum for OCT imaging. With a white-light source, the 8-mum 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.