All Articles from benjamin r. biedermann -Optical Coherence Tomography News

Articles from benjamin r. biedermann

1-20 of 20
1. Picosecond pulses from wavelength-swept continuous-wave Fourier domain mode-locked lasers
  
  Explore Nature Publishing Group May 16 2013 Tunable Sources
  
  Ultrafast lasers have a crucial function in many fields of science; however, up to now, high-energy pulses directly from compact, efficient and low-power semiconductor lasers are not available. Therefore, we introduce a new approach based on temporal compression of the continuous-wave, wavelength-swept output of Fourier domain mode-locked lasers, where a narrowband optical filter is tuned synchronously to the round-trip time of light in a kilometre-long laser cavity. So far, these rapidly swept lasers enabled orders-of-magnitude speed increase in optical coherence tomography. Here we report on the generation of ~60-70 ps pulses at 390 kHz repetition rate. As energy is stored ...
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  Mentions: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
2. Chromatic polarization effects of swept waveforms in FDML lasers and fiber spools
  
  Explore opticsinfobase.org Apr 16 2012 Tunable Sources
  
  We present detailed investigations of chromatic polarization effects, caused by fiber spools used in FDML lasers and buffering spools for rapidly wavelength swept lasers. We introduce a novel wavelength swept FDML laser source, specially tailored for polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (OCT) which switches between two different linear polarization states separated by 45°, i.e. 90° on the Poincaré sphere. The polarization maintaining laser cavity itself generates a stable linear polarization state and uses an external buffering technique in order to provide alternating polarization states for successive wavelength sweeps. The design of the setup is based on a comprehensive analysis ...
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  Mentions: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
3. Broadband Fourier domain mode-locked laser for optical coherence tomography at 1060 nm
  
  Explore SPIE Digital Library Feb 17 2012 Ophthalmology , Tunable Sources
  
  Optical coherence tomography (OCT) in the 1060nm range is interesting for in vivo imaging of the human posterior eye segment (retina, choroid, sclera) due to low absorption in water and deep penetration into the tissue. Rapidly tunable light sources, such as Fourier domain mode-locked (FDML) lasers, enable acquisition of densely sampled three-dimensional datasets covering a wide field of view. However, semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs)-the typical laser gain media for swept sources-for the 1060nm band could until recently only provide relatively low output power and bandwidth. We have implemented an FDML laser using a new SOA featuring broad gain bandwidth ...
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  Mentions: Medical University of Vienna Technical University of Denmark (DTU) Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
4. Feature Of The Week 9/4/11: Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians University Continue to Blaze Trails Developing High Performance Swept Source OCT Technology and Its Application in Medical Imaging
  
  Explore Optical Coherence Tomography News Sep 4 2011 Ophthalmology
  
  Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians University continue to blaze trails in their work developing high performance swept source optical coherence tomography technology and the application of high speed frequency tuned sources in medical imaging. The Fourier-domain mode locked laser (FDML) together with tapped-delay line sweep-rate multipliers, light delivery and calibration optics, novel frame averaging and sampling techniques, wide FOV scanning technology, and high speed signal processing and visualization technology are impressive and will clearly have a significant impact on future medical imaging systems and ultimately patient care. Below is a presentation on some of their work entitled “(Multi-) MHz FDML OCT: Retinal ...
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  Mentions: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
5. Extended focus high-speed swept source OCT with self-reconstructive illumination
  
  Explore opticsinfobase.org Jun 8 2011
  
  We present a Bessel beam illumination FDOCT setup using a FDML Swept Source at 1300nm with up to 440kHz A-scan rate, and discuss its advantages for structural and functional imaging of highly scattering samples. An extended focus is achieved due to the Bessel beam that preserves its lateral extend over a large depth range. Furthermore, Bessel beams exhibit a self-reconstruction property that allows imaging even behind obstacles such as hairs on skin. Decoupling the illumination from the Gaussian detection increases the global sensitivity and enables dark field imaging. Dark field imaging is useful to avoid strong reflexes from the sample ...
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  Mentions: University of Vienna Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
6. High-speed functional OCT with self-reconstructive Bessel illumination at 1300nm
  
  Explore SPIE Digital Library Jun 1 2011 Dermatology
  
  Cedric Blatter, Branislav Grajciar, and Christoph M. Eigenwillig et al. We present a Bessel beam illumination FDOCT setup with FDML buffered swept source at 1300nm. An extended focus is achieved due to the Bessel beam that preserves its lateral extend over a large depth range. Decoupling the illumination from the Gaussian detection improves the sensitivity as compared t ... [Proc. SPIE 8091, 809104 (2011)] published Thu Jun 09, 2011.
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  Mentions: Medical University of Vienna Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
7. Megahertz OCT for ultrawide-field retinal imaging with a 1050nm Fourier domain mode-locked laser
  
  Explore opticsinfobase.org Mar 10 2011 Ophthalmology
  
  We demonstrate ultrahigh speed swept source retinal OCT imaging using a Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) laser. The laser uses a combination of a semiconductor optical amplifier and an ytterbium doped fiber amplifier to provide more than 50mW output power. The 1050nm FDML laser uses standard telecom fiber for the km long delay line instead of two orders of magnitude more expensive real single mode fiber. We investigate the influence of this “oligo-mode” fiber on the FDML laser performance. Two design configurations with 684,400 and 1,368,700 axial scans per second are investigated, 25x and 50x faster than ...
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  Mentions: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
8. Wavelength swept amplified spontaneous emission source for high speed retinal optical coherence tomography at 1060 nm
  
  Explore Wiley Online Library Nov 11 2010 Tunable Sources
  
  The wavelength swept amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) source presented in this paper is an alternative approach to realize a light source for high speed swept source optical coherence tomography (OCT). ASE alternately passes a cascade of different optical gain elements and tunable optical bandpass filters. In this work we show for the first time a wavelength swept ASE source in the 1060 nm wavelength range, enabling high speed retinal OCT imaging. We demonstrate ultra-rapid retinal OCT at a line rate of 170 kHz, a record sweep rate at 1060 nm of 340 kHz with 70 nm full sweep width, enabling ...
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  Mentions: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
9. Direct measurement of the instantaneous linewidth of rapidly wavelength-swept lasers
  
  Explore opticsinfobase.org Nov 2 2010 Tunable Sources
  
  The instantaneous linewidth of rapidly wavelength-swept laser sources as used for optical coherence tomography (OCT) is of crucial interest for a deeper understanding of physical effects involved in their operation. Swept lasers for OCT, typically sweeping over ~15 THz in ~10μs, have linewidths of several gigahertz. The high optical-frequency sweep speed makes it impossible to measure the instantaneous spectrum with standard methods. Hence, up to now, experimental access to the instantaneous linewidth was rather indirect by the inverse Fourier transform of the coherence decay. In this Letter, we present a method by fast synchronous time gating and extraction of a ...
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  Mentions: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
10. Feature Of The Week 9/5/10: Record Breaking OCT Volumetric Image Acquisition Rates by Researchers at Ludwig Maximilians University
  
  Explore Optical Coherence Tomography News Sep 5 2010 Tunable Sources
  
  Feature Of The Week 9/5/10: As the 2010 academic years begins OCT News will resume its “Feature Of The Week” section. This year starts with an exciting submission by Dr. Robert Huber’s research group at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich on record breaking OCT volumetric data set acquisition rates that were hard to imaging just a few years ago.Currently there is an ongoing debate about the optimum imaging speed of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) systems, considering the tradeoff between speed and image quality. Huge efforts have been made to push the imaging speed of OCT. This includes the ...
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  Mentions: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
11. Fourier domain mode-locked swept source  at 1050 nm based on a tapered amplifier
  
  Explore opticsinfobase.org Jul 12 2010 Tunable Sources
  
  While swept source optical coherence tomography (OCT) in the 1050 nm range is promising for retinal imaging, there are certain challenges. Conventional semiconductor gain media have limited output power, and the performance of high-speed Fourier domain mode-locked (FDML) lasers suffers from chromatic dispersion in standard optical fiber. We developed a novel light source with a tapered amplifier as gain medium, and investigated the FDML performance comparing two fiber delay lines with different dispersion properties. We introduced an additional gain element into the resonator, and thereby achieved stable FDML operation, exploiting the full bandwidth of the tapered amplifier despite high dispersion ...
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  Mentions: Micron Optics Technical University of Denmark (DTU) Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
12. Multi-Megahertz OCT: High quality 3D imaging at 20 million A-scans and 4.5 GVoxels per second
  
  Explore opticsinfobase.org Jun 23 2010 Tunable Sources
  
  We present ultra high speed optical coherence tomography (OCT) with multi-megahertz line rates and investigate the achievable image quality. The presented system is a swept source OCT setup using a Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) laser. Three different FDML-based swept laser sources with sweep rates of 1, 2.6 and 5.2MHz are compared. Imaging with 4 spots in parallel quadruples the effective speed, enabling depth scan rates as high as 20.8 million lines per second. Each setup provides at least 98dB sensitivity and ~10µm resolution in tissue. High quality 2D and 3D imaging of biological samples is demonstrated ...
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  Mentions: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
13. Feature Of The Week 12/6/09: Cascaded Wavelength Swept Amplified Spontaneous Emission Source for Optical Coherence Tomography
  
  Explore Optical Coherence Tomography News Dec 6 2009 Tunable Sources
  
  Feature Of The Week 12/6/09: Due to increasing interest in Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) using wavelength swept lasers (SS-OCT), huge efforts have been made by both research and commercial organizations around the world to push the performance of such sources and with it OCT system capabilities. This includes sweep repetition rate, power, new wavelengths, coherence length, and more. One of the drawbacks of standard wavelength-swept lasers is the fact that lasing has to build up from amplified spontaneous emission repetitively within several roundtrips of the light, limiting the maximum achievable sweep speed. Dr. Robert Huber and other researchers ...
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  Mentions: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
14. Wavelength swept amplified spontaneous emission source
  
  Explore opticsinfobase.org Oct 2 2009 Tunable Sources
  
  We present a new, alternative approach to realize a wavelength swept light source with no fundamental limit to sweep speed. Amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) light alternately passes a cascade of optical gain elements and tunable optical bandpass filters. We show that for high sweep speeds, the control signal for the different filters has to be applied with a defined, precise phase delay on the order of nanoseconds, to compensate for the light propagation time between the filters and ensure optimum operation. At a center wavelength of 1300 nm sweep rates of 10 kHz, 100 kHz and 340 kHz over a ...
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  Mentions: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
15. Recent developments in Fourier Domain Mode Locked lasers for optical coherence tomography: Imaging at 1310 nm vs. 1550 nm wavelength
  
  Explore www3.interscience.wiley.com Jun 29 2009 Tunable Sources
  
  We report on recent progress in Fourier domain mode-locking (FDML) technology. The paper focuses on developments beyond pushing the speed of these laser sources. After an overview of improvements to FDML over the last three years, a brief analysis of OCT imaging using FDML lasers with different wavelengths is presented. For the first time, high speed, high quality FDML imaging at 1550 nm is presented and compared to a system at 1310 nm. The imaging results of human skin for both wavelengths are compared and analyzed. Sample arm optics, power on the sample, heterodyne gain, detection bandwidth, colour cut levels ...
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  Mentions: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
16. Dispersion, coherence and noise of Fourier domain mode locked lasers
  
  Explore opticsinfobase.org May 29 2009 Tunable Sources
  
  We report on the effect of chromatic dispersion on coherence length and noise of Fourier Domain Mode Locked (FDML) lasers. An FDML laser with a sweep range of 100nm around 1550nm has been investigated. Cavity configurations with and without dispersion compensation have been analyzed using different widths of the intra-cavity optical band-pass filter. The measurements are compared to non-FDML wavelength swept laser sources. Based on these observations, a simple model is developed providing a connection between timing, photon cavity lifetime and characteristic time constant of the filter. In an optimized configuration, an instantaneous laser linewidth of 20pm is observed, corresponding ...
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  Mentions: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
17. Subharmonic Fourier domain mode locking
  
  Explore opticsinfobase.org Mar 2 2009 Tunable Sources
  
  We demonstrate a subharmonically Fourier domain mode-locked wavelength-swept laser source with a substantially reduced cavity fiber length. In contrast to a standard Fourier domain mode-locked configuration, light is recirculated repetitively in the delay line with the optical bandpass filter used as switch. The laser has a fundamental optical round trip frequency of 285 kHz and can be operated at integer fractions thereof (subharmonics). Sweep ranges up to 95 nm full width centred at 1317 nm are achieved at the 1/5th subharmonic. A maximum sensitivity of 116 dB and an axial resolution of 12 um in air are measured at ...
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  Mentions: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
18. Raman-pumped Fourier-domain mode-locked laser: analysis of operation and application for optical coherence tomography
  
  Explore opticsinfobase.org Nov 20 2008 Ophthalmology
  
  We demonstrate a Raman-pumped Fourier-domain mode-locked (FDML) fiber laser and optical coherence tomography imaging with this source. The wavelength sweep range of only 30 nm centered around 1550 nm results in limited axial resolution, hence a nonbiological sample is imaged. An output power of 1.9 ... [Opt. Lett. 33, 2815-2817 (2008)]
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  Mentions: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
19. Real time en face Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography with direct hardware frequency demodulation
  
  Explore opticsinfobase.org Oct 28 2008 Tunable Sources
  
  We demonstrate en face swept source optical coherence tomography (ss-OCT) without requiring a Fourier transformation step. The electronic optical coherence tomography (OCT) interference signal from a k-space linear Fourier domain mode-locked laser is mixed with an adjustable local oscillator, ... [Opt. Lett. 33, 2556-2558 (2008)]
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  Mentions: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
20. K-space linear Fourier domain mode locked laser and applications for optical coherence tomography
  
  Explore opticsinfobase.org Jun 3 2008 Tunable Sources
  
  We report on a Fourier Domain Mode Locked (FDML) wavelength swept laser source with a highly linear time-frequency sweep characteristic and demonstrate OCT imaging without k-space resampling prior to Fourier transformation. A detailed theoretical framework is provided and different strategies ... [Opt. Express 16, 8916-8937 (2008)]
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  Mentions: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
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