Optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging systems are provided including a source of broadband optical radiation coupled to a sample arm of the OCT imaging system; a beam shaping optical assembly in the sample arm, the beam shaping optical assembly being configured to receive optical radiation from the source as a beam of optical radiation and to shape the spatial profile of the beam of optical radiation; a scan mirror assembly coupled to the beam shaping optical assembly; and objective lens assembly coupled to the beam shaping optical assembly. The beam shaping optical assembly includes a lens assembly configured to change a NA of the OCT system without changing a focus; to change a focus of the OCT system without changing a NA of the system; or to change both the NA and the focus of the OCT system responsive to a control input.

The present invention is related with the two-channel point-diffraction interferometer for testing the optical systems or optical elements. The two-channel point-diffraction interferometer comprising a laser source inducing a linearly polarized laser beam which is divided by a beam splitter to a working channel and to a reference channel whereas the one half of light as working channel is directed from the first collimator to the working collimator by a first single-mode optical fiber to keep polarization of light unchanged, and another half of light as reference channel is directed from the second collimator to the reference collimator by a second single-mode optical fiber to keep polarization of light unchanged.

A method for digital holographic microtomography comprises (a) providing at least one wavefront controlling device for driving a sample to be rotated and/or an incident beam scanning the sample, (b) utilizing a digital holographic access unit for recording the transmitted or reflected wavefronts of the sample, (c) utilizing a digital holography reconstructing method for reconstructing the transmitted or reflected wavefronts of the sample, and (d) utilizing a tomographic reconstruction approach for reconstructing three dimensional image information of the sample.

The system and methods are made to apply interferometry to ophthalmic applications. The system makes use of a low-coherence interferometer to obtain a plurality of measurements of a contacts lens. The system and methods characterizes the surface profile of both surfaces of a contact lens, a thickness profiles, and combines these measurements with an index information to reconstruct a complete model of the contact lens.

A phase-resolved heterodyne shearing interferometer has been developed for high-rate, whole field observations of transient surface motion. The sensor utilizes polarization multiplexing and multiple carrier frequencies to separate each segment of a shearing Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Post-processing routines have been developed to recombine the segments by extracting the scattered object phase from Doppler shifted intermediate carrier frequencies, providing quantitative relative phase changes and information to create variable shear, phase resolved shearographic fringe patterns without temporal or spatial phase shifting.

A beam-shaping optical system suitable for use with optical coherence tomography includes a beam-shaping body having a beam-shaping element and an alignment feature. An optical fiber is coupled to the alignment feature. The fiber has a fiber end configured to emit an electromagnetic beam. The fiber and the body are configured to direct the beam into the beam-shaping element such that the beam is shaped solely by reflection into an image spot.

A focus scan type imaging device for imaging a target object in a sample that induces aberration proposed. The device includes: a light source unit for emitting a beam; an optical interferometer for splitting the beam emitted from the light source into a sample wave and a reference wave, and providing an interference wave formed by interference between a reflection wave that is the sample wave reflected from the sample and the reference wave; a camera module for imaging the interference wave; a scanning mirror disposed on an optical path of the sample wave of the optical interferometer and configured to reflect the sample wave to cause the sample wave to scan the sample; a wavefront shaping modulator disposed on the optical path of the sample wave of the optical interferometer; and an imaging controller configured to operate in a phase map calculation mode and in an imaging mode.

The system and methods are made to apply interferometry to ophthalmic applications. The system makes use of a low-coherence interferometer to obtain a plurality of measurements of a contacts lens. The system and methods characterizes the surface profile of both surfaces of a contact lens, a thickness profiles, and combines these measurements with an index information to reconstruct a complete model of the contact lens.

The invention provides a method and apparatus for applying spatial filtering the optical beam of a free space optical coherence tomography (OCT) system substantially without problematic reflections back to the optical source. The invention teaches spatially filtering the reference beam of the OCT system which is typically designed to provide isolation of the optical source from undesirable optical feed-back, thereby achieving spatial filtering without generating undesirable reflections back to the optical source. Various embodiments are taught.

A phase-resolved heterodyne shearing interferometer has been developed for high-rate, whole field observations of transient surface motion. The sensor utilizes polarization multiplexing and multiple carrier frequencies to separate each segment of a shearing Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Post-processing routines have been developed to recombine the segments by extracting the scattered object phase from Doppler shifted intermediate carrier frequencies, providing quantitative relative phase changes and information to create variable shear, phase resolved shearographic fringe patterns without temporal or spatial phase shifting.