Boris Karamata

Dispersion compensation for optical coherence tomography depth-scan signals by a numerical technique

A new numerical a posteriori dispersion compensation technique for partial coherence interferometry and optical coherence tomography depth-scan signals is presented. This technique is based on numerical correlation of the depth-scan interferometer signal with a depth-variant kernel. Examples of dispersion compensated depth-scan signals obtained from microscope cover glasses are presented.

Parallel optical coherence tomography in scattering samples using a two-dimensional smart-pixel detector array

Parallel optical coherence tomography in scattering samples is demonstrated using a 58 x 58 smart-pixel detector array. A femtosecond mode-locked Ti:Sapphire laser in combination with a free space Michelson interferometer was employed to achieve 4 mum longitudinal resolution and 9 mum transverse resolution on a 260 x 260 mum field of view. We imaged a resolution target covered by an intralipid solution with different scattering coefficients as well as onion cells

Speckle statistics in optical coherence tomography

The two previously reported calculations of the amplitude distribution of speckles in optical coherence tomography, each based on a different mathematical formulation, yield different results. We show that a modification of an initial assumption in one of the formulations leads to equivalent results.

Multiple scattering in optical coherence tomography. I. Investigation and modeling

We present a new model of optical coherence tomography (OCT) taking into account multiple scattering. A theoretical analysis and experimental investigation reveals that in OCT, despite multiple scattering, the field backscattered from the sample is generally spatially coherent and that the resulting interference signal with the reference field is stationary relative to measurement time. On the basis of this result, we model an OCT signal as a sum of spatially coherent fields with random-phase arguments--constant during measurement time--caused by multiple scattering. We calculate the mean of such a random signal from classical results of statistical optics and a Monte Carlo simulation. OCT signals predicted by our model are in very good agreement with a depth scan measurement of a sample consisting of a mirror covered with an aqueous suspension of microspheres. We discuss other comprehensive OCT models based on the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle, which rest on the assumption of partially coherent interfering fields.

Video-rate three-dimensional optical coherence tomography

Most current optical coherence tomography systems provide two-dimensional cross-sectional or en face images. Successive adjacent images have to be acquired to reconstruct three-dimensional objects, which can be time consuming. Here we demonstrate three-dimensional optical coherence tomography (3D OCT) at video rate. A 58 by 58 smart-pixel detector array was employed. A sample volume of 210x210x80 m3 (corresponding to 58x58x58 voxels) was imaged at 25 Hz. The longitudinal and transverse resolutions are 3 m and 9 m respectively. The sensitivity of the system was 76 dB. Video rate 3D OCT is illustrated by movies of a strand of hair undergoing fast thermal damage.

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.

Multiple scattering in optical coherence tomography. II. Experimental and theoretical investigation of cross talk in wide-field optical coherence tomography

We present a comprehensive study of multiple-scattering effects in wide-field optical coherence tomography (OCT) realized with spatially coherent illumination. Imaging a sample made of a cleaved mirror embedded in an aqueous suspension of microspheres revealed that, despite temporal coherence gating, multiple scattering can induce significant coherent optical cross talk. The latter is a serious limitation to the method, since it prevents shot-noise-limited detection and diffraction-limited imaging in scattering samples. We investigate the dependence of cross talk on important system design parameters, as well as on some relevant sample properties. The agreement between theoretical and experimental results for the wide range of parameters investigated was very good, in both the lateral and the axial dimensions. This further confirms the validity of the model developed in our companion paper [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 22, 1369-1379 (2005)].

Self-referenced method for optical path difference calibration in low-coherence interferometry.

A simple method for the calibration of optical path difference modulation in low-coherence interferometry is presented. Spectrally filtering a part of the detected interference signal results in a high-coherence signal that encodes the scan imperfections and permits their correction. The method is self-referenced in the sense that no secondary high-coherence light source is necessary. Using a spectrometer setup for spectral filtering allows for flexibility in both the choice of calibration wavelength and the maximum scan range. To demonstrate the methods usefulness, it is combined with a recently published digital spectral shaping technique to measure the thickness of a pellicle beam splitter with a white-light source.

New dispersion compensation technique for Partial Coherence Interferometry (PCI) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)

In this paper a numerical a posteriori depth-variant dispersion compensation technique for PCI and OCT depth-scan signals is presented. This technique is based on numerical correlation of the depth-scan interferometer signal with a depth-variant kernel. Examples of dispersion compensated depth-scan signals obtained from microscope cover glasses are presented. First results show substantial resolution improvements.

Origin and nature of measurement bias in catadioptric parallel goniophotometers

We briefly categorize and compare parallel goniophotometers, which are instruments capable of simultaneously measuring the far-field distribution of light scattered by a surface or emitted by a source over a large solid angle. Little is known about the accuracy and reliability of an appealing category, the catadioptric parallel goniophotometers (CPGs), which exploit a curved reflector and a lens system. We analyzed the working principle common to all the different design configurations of a CPG and established the specifications implicitly imposed on the lens system. Based on heuristic considerations, we show that the properties of a real (thick) lens system are not fully compatible with these specifications. This causes a bias to the measurements that increases with the acceptance angle of the lens system. Depending on the angular field, the measured sample area can be drastically reduced and shifted relative to the center of the sample. To gain insights into the nature and importance of the measurement bias, it was calculated with our model implemented in MATLAB for the CPG configuration incorporating a lens system with a very large acceptance angle (fisheye lens). Our results demonstrate that, due to the spatio-angular-filtering properties of the fisheye lens, this category of CPGs is so severely biased as to give unusable measurements. In addition, our findings raise the question of the importance of the bias in the other types of CPGs that rely on a lens system with a lower acceptance angle.