Development of a high power supercontinuum source in the 17 μm wavelength region for highly penetrative ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography

Abstract

Abstract:We developed a high power supercontinuum source at a center wavelength of 1.7 μm to demonstrate highly penetrative ultrahighresolution optical coherence tomography (UHR-OCT). A single-wall carbon nanotube dispersed in polyimide film was used as a transparent saturable absorber in the cavity configuration and a high-repetition-rate ultrashort-pulse fiber laser was realized. The developed SC source had an output power of 60 mW, a bandwidth of 242 nm full-width at half maximum, and a repetition rate of 110 MHz. The average power and repetition rate were approximately twice as large as those of our previous SC source [20]. Using the developed SC source, UHR-OCT imaging was demonstrated. A sensitivity of 105 dB and an axial resolution of 3.2 μm in biological tissue were achieved. We compared the UHR-OCT images of some biological tissue samples measured with the developed SC source, the previous one, and one operating in the 1.3 μm wavelength region. We confirmed that the developed SC source had improved sensitivity and penetration depth for low-water-absorption samples. tomographic imaging of human tissue at 1.55 μm and 1.81 μm using Er-and Tm-doped fiber sources," J.

Optical coherence microscopy in 1700 nm spectral band for high-resolution label-free deep-tissue imaging

“…This result indicates that the resolving power of the 1700-nm OCM in the lateral direction was close to the theoretical limit. From these experiments, we confirmed that the 1700-nm OCM provides the highest 3D spatial resolution among 1700-nm OCT imaging techniques323435363738.…”

High resolution Fourier domain optical coherence tomography in the 2 μm wavelength range using a broadband supercontinuum source

“…There have been very few developments of long wavelength OCT beyond 1.5 μm [7][8][9][10][11][12]. We have previously demonstrated through a time-domain OCT system the significantly improved probing depth of long wavelength OCT in comparison to short wavelength sources [11,12].…”

Dynamics of a Dispersion-Managed Passively Mode-Locked Er-Doped Fiber Laser Using Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes

“…An ultrashort-pulse SWNT fiber laser is a practical laser source that is already playing a role as a useful pulse source in optical frequency combs, ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomography, and nonlinear microscopy [22][23][24]. Especially, the performance of an optical frequency comb depends on the characteristics of the laser [25][26][27].…”