The present disclosure provides an OCT imaging system having a variety of advantages. In particular, the OCT system of the present disclosure may provide a more intuitive interface, more efficient usage of controls, and a greater ability to view OCT imaging data.

There is described an interferometer for use in an optical locker. The interferometer comprises at least two transparent materials having different thermal path length sensitivities. The interferometer is configured such that an input beam is split by the interferometer into first and second intermediate beams, which recombine to form an output beam, the first and second intermediate beams travelling along respective first and second intermediate beam paths which do not overlap. At least one of the intermediate beam paths passes through at least two of the transparent materials. A length of each intermediate beam path which passes through each transparent material is selected such that an optical path difference between the first and second intermediate beam path is substantially independent of temperature.

An interferometer has a first input configured to provide a first measurement beam at a first frequency, and a second measurement signal at the first frequency. The interferometer has a second input configured to provide a reference beam at a second frequency that is different than the first frequency; an optical element comprising a first portion comprising a polarization beam splitter; and a diffraction grating disposed over the optical element configured to diffract the first measurement beam and the second measurement beam.

The present disclosure is directed toward low-coherence interferometry imaging systems comprising a common-path interferometer that is at least partially integrated as part of a planar lightwave circuit is disclosed. Imaging systems in accordance with the present disclosure are implemented in integrated optics without the inclusion of highly wavelength-sensitive components. As a result, they exhibit less wavelength dependence than PLC-based interferometers of the prior art. Further, common-path interferometer arrangements in accordance with the present disclosure avoid polarization and wavelength dispersion effects that plague prior-art PLC-based interferometers. Still further, an integrated common-path interferometer is smaller and less complex than other integrated interferometers, which makes it possible to integrate multiple interferometers on a single chip, thereby enabling multi-signal systems, such as plane-wave parallel OCT systems.

This disclosure provides photonic integrated chip that has an optical waveguide located on a photonic circuit substrate that includes a photonic circuit that is optically coupled to the waveguide. A microfluidic channel is in a silicon substrate and is attached to the photonic circuit substrate. The microfluidic channel is positioned over the optical waveguide such that its side surfaces and an outermost surface extend into the microfluidic channel. The microfluidic channel extends along a length of the optical waveguide, and nanoparticles are located on or adjacent the optical waveguide located within the microfluidic channel.

The invention relates to a full-field OCT method for generating an imaging of an ocular fundus (31), in which short-coherent light (22) is emitted and split into an object beam path (25) and a reference beam path (24). The object beam path (25) is directed onto the ocular fundus (33). The reference beam path (24) and a portion of the object beam path (25) reflected by the ocular fundus (31) are directed onto an image sensor (32), such that an interference between the reference beam path (24) and the object beam path (25) occurs on the image sensor (32), wherein the reference beam path (24) impinges on the image sensor (32) at an angle deviating from the object beam path (25). Before impinging on the image sensor (32), the reference beam path (24) impinges on an optical correction element (27) in order to reduce a chromatic aberration within the reference beam path (24). Intensity information and phase information is determined from a capturing of the image sensor. A focus-adjusted image of the ocular fundus is calculated. The invention also relates to a system that is suitable for carrying out said method. Images of the ocular fundus can be captured without the beam path being previously adapted to the refractive power of the eye lens.

Disclosed are a laser heterodyne interferometric apparatus based on plane mirror reflection and a corresponding method. The interferometric apparatus includes a dual-frequency laser, a first photoelectric receiver, a second photoelectric receiver, a first polarizing beamsplitter, a second polarizing beamsplitter, a third polarizing beamsplitter, a quarter-wave plate, a right angle mirror, an optical compensator, and a measured plane mirror. The method performs heterodyne interferometry with two spatially separated beams of different frequencies and balances the optical path lengths of the measurement beam and the reference beam with the optical compensator. In the method, the measured plane mirror moves back and forth along the propagation direction of the input beams. The disclosure suppresses optical non-linearity and optical thermal drift in laser heterodyne interferometry, simplifies the optical path structure, and improves accuracy of laser heterodyne interferometry.

Disclosed are a laser heterodyne interferometric apparatus based on plane mirror reflection and a corresponding method. The interferometric apparatus includes a dual-frequency laser, a first photoelectric receiver, a second photoelectric receiver, a first polarizing beamsplitter, a second polarizing beamsplitter, a third polarizing beamsplitter, a quarter-wave plate, a right angle mirror, an optical compensator, and a measured plane mirror. The method performs heterodyne interferometry with two spatially separated beams of different frequencies and balances the optical path lengths of the measurement beam and the reference beam with the optical compensator. In the method, the measured plane mirror moves back and forth along the propagation direction of the input beams. The disclosure suppresses optical non-linearity and optical thermal drift in laser heterodyne interferometry, simplifies the optical path structure, and improves accuracy of laser heterodyne interferometry.

The technology disclosed in this patent document can be used to implement an optical coherent tomography (OCT) system that combines a control of the probe light to the target sample with different optical aberration patterns in optically probing the target sample and an OCT imaging processing to enhance the OCT imaging quality by combining image signals from in-phase contributions from the probing with different optical aberration patterns while suppressing randomly phased contributions from scattering by the target sample.

The present disclosure is directed toward low-coherence interferometry imaging systems comprising a common-path interferometer that is at least partially integrated as part of a planar lightwave circuit is disclosed. Imaging systems in accordance with the present disclosure are implemented in integrated optics without the inclusion of highly wavelength-sensitive components. As a result, they exhibit less wavelength dependence than PLC-based interferometers of the prior art. Further, common-path interferometer arrangements in accordance with the present disclosure avoid polarization and wavelength dispersion effects that plague prior-art PLC-based interferometers. Still further, an integrated common-path interferometer is smaller and less complex than other integrated interferometers, which makes it possible to integrate multiple interferometers on a single chip, thereby enabling multi-signal systems, such as plane-wave parallel OCT systems.