Optimization of a dispersion-tuned wavelength-swept fiber laser for optical coherence tomography.

We optimized parameters of a dispersion-tuned wavelength-swept fiber laser by numerically analyzing dynamic characteristics. The optimized laser is experimentally demonstrated and applied to the swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) system. The dispersion-tuned wavelength-swept laser (DT-WSL) is a unique tunable fiber laser, whose lasing wavelength can be tuned rapidly without any mechanical tunable filters. Although the wavelength of a DT-WSL can be swept rapidly and widely, the broadening of the instantaneous spectral width at a high sweep rate has been a critical drawback for SS-OCT applications. Numerical simulations have shown that higher modulation frequencies for active mode-locking lead to narrower instantaneous spectral widths. However, a lower modulation frequency is needed to achieve a wider wavelength tuning range. Pulse modulation is employed to solve the trade-off between instantaneous spectral width and wavelength tuning range. In this paper, the characteristics of a sinusoidally modulated and a pulse-modulated DT-WSL are compared numerically and experimentally. The numerical simulation results show that a pulse-modulated laser can achieve spectral widths as narrow as that of the sinusoidally modulated laser with >5 GHz modulation frequency, even when the pulse modulation frequency is as low as 500 MHz. We also study the difference in the laser characteristics with different sweep directions and discover that a positive wavelength sweep leads to a narrower instantaneous spectral width. We also experimentally confirmed that pulse modulation can indeed achieve a narrower spectral width, as expected from our numerical simulation results. The pulse-modulated DT-WSL is then used in an SS-OCT system and successfully achieves a coherence length of 1.3 mm, whereas that of a sinusoidally modulated DT-WSL is limited to only 0.7 mm. Furthermore, we experimentally compare the performance difference in OCT imaging with different wavelength sweep directions, and the results proved that it is advantageous to apply a positive wavelength sweep, as predicted by our numerical simulation.

High-speed dispersion-tuned wavelength-swept fiber laser using a reflective SOA and a chirped FBG.

We present a high-speed wavelength-swept fiber laser based on a dispersion tuning method using a reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA) and a chirped fiber Bragg grating (CFBG). By using these devices, the cavity length can be shortened drastically. The short cavity improves the laser performance at high sweep rates over 200 kHz. We achieve a sweep range of 60 nm and an output power of 8.4 mW at 100 kHz sweep. We applied the dispersion-tuned fiber laser to the swept-source OCT system and successfully obtained OCT images of an adhesive tape at up to 250 kHz sweep rate.

Evaluation of the internal structure of normal and pathological Guinea pig cochleae using optical coherence tomography.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) makes it possible to visualize the internal structures of several organs, such as the eye, in vivo. Although visualization of the internal structures of the inner ear has been used to try and identify certain pathological conditions, attempts have failed mainly due to the thick bony capsule surrounding this end organ. After decalcifying the bony wall of the cochlea with ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid, we could clearly visualize its internal structures by using OCT. We identified endolymphatic hydrops, strial atrophy and damage to the organ of Corti, evident as a distention of Reissner's membrane, thinning of the lateral wall and flattening of the organ of Corti, respectively. When specimens embedded in paraffin, sliced and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) were examined under a light microscope, the OCT images of normal and pathological cochleae were virtually identical with those of the HE specimens, except that the HE specimens exhibited several artifacts unrecognized in OCT images, which were considered to be induced during the preparation process. Since OCT enables one to obtain arbitrary plane images by manipulating the slice axis of the specimens and avoids any misinterpretation due to artifacts induced during histological preparation, our technique would be useful for examining cochlear pathologies without or prior to histological evaluations.