Fourier domain mode-locked swept source at 1050 nm based on a tapered amplifier
S. Marschall1, T. Klein2, W. Wieser2, B.R.. Biedermann2, K. Hsu3, K.P. Hansen4, B. Sumpf5 , K.-H. Hasler5, G. Erbert5, O.B. Jensen1, C. Pedersen1, R. Huber2, and P.E. Andersen1
Published in:
Opt. Express, vol. 18, no. 15, pp. 15820-15831 (2010).
Abstract:
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. The light source operates at a repetition rate of 116 kHz with an effective average output power in excess of 30 mW. With a total sweep range of 70 nm, we achieved an axial resolution of 15 µm in air (~11 µm in tissue) in OCT measurements. As our work shows, tapered amplifiers are suitable gain media for swept sources at 1050 nm with increased output power, while high gain counteracts dispersion effects in an FDML laser.
1 DTU Fotonik, Department of Photonics Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
2 Lehrstuhl für BioMolekulare Optik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Oettingenstraße 67, 80538 München, Germany
3 Micron Optics, Inc., 1852 Century Place NE, Atlanta, GA30345 USA
4 NKT Photonics A/S, Blokken 84, DK-3460 Birkerød, Denmark
5 Optoelectronics Department, Ferdinand-Braun-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik, Gustav-Kirchhoff-Straße 4, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
OCIS codes:
(140.3600) Lasers, tunable; (250.5980) Semiconductor optical amplifiers; (260.2030) Dispersion; (110.4500) Optical coherence tomography; (140.5960) Semiconductor lasers.
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