Fourier Domain Mode Locking (FDML): Wavelength Swept Lasers for Ultrahigh Speed Optical Coherence Tomography

Abstract

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a novel, depth resolved biomedical imaging technique, providing highresolution, cross-sectional and three-dimensional images of tissue microstructure. The application of OCT systems based on rapidly wavelength swept, narrow band light sources, referred to as “swept source OCT” or “optical frequency domain imaging”, offers several potential advantages compared to high speed OCT systems based on fast spectrometers. The advent of Fourier domain mode locked (FDML) lasers as light sources for swept source OCT enabled high imaging speeds of up to 370.000 lines or A-scans per second, combined with good phase stability and long ranging depths.

In this paper, ophthalmic and other biomedical OCT imaging applications of FDML lasers demonstrated so far will be discussed and new technological developments for future high performance OCT systems are described. First results towards the future technological integration of functional extensions into fast swept source OCT systems will be given.