English

Shot-noise limited, 10 MHz swept-source optical coherence tomography for retinal imaging

Optics 2024-10-22 v1 Medical Physics

Abstract

Akinetic swept-sources are essential for high-speed optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. Time-stretched supercontinuum (TSSC) lasers have proven to be efficient for multi-MHz swept-sources. However, lack of low-noise broadband lasers and of large dispersion devices in the water low-absorption band at 1060 nm have limited the biomedical applications of TSSC lasers. In this letter, an approach to tune the wavelength around 1050 nm over 90 nm with low-noise at 10 MHz is presented. This is based on all-normal dispersion (ANDi) supercontinuum dynamics, and employs a long chirped fiber Bragg grating (CFBG) to time-stretch a broadband pulse with a duty cycle of 93 %. Retinal images are demonstrated, with a sensitivity of 84 dB - approaching the shot noise limit. We believe this high-speed low-noise swept-source will greatly promote the development of OCT techniques for biomedical applications.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2410.15692,
  title  = {Shot-noise limited, 10 MHz swept-source optical coherence tomography for retinal imaging},
  author = {Sacha Grelet and Alejandro Martinez Jimenez and Patrick B. Montague and Adrian Podoleanu},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2410.15692},
  year   = {2024}
}