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.

En face views of OCT volumes provide important and complementing visualizations of the retina and optic nerve head investigating biomarkers of diseases affecting the retina. We demonstrate the combination of real time processing of OCT volumetric data for axial tracking. In combination with a Controllable Optical Element (COE), this invention demonstrates acquisition, real time tracking, automated focus on depth resolved en face layers extracted from a volume, and focus stacked OCT volumes with high resolution throughout an extended depth range.

An alignment system uses a self-referencing interferometer that incorporates an objective lens system having a plurality of lens element groups. In an embodiment, the objective is configured and arranged to provide a large numerical aperture, long working distance, and low wavefront error.

Provided is an optical coherence tomographic apparatus, including: a light source configured to generate light; a light splitting unit configured to split the light from the light source into reference light and measuring light; a detection unit configured to detect intensity of combined light obtained by combining the reference light with return light from an object to be inspected, which is irradiated with the measuring light; an image forming unit configured to form a tomographic image of the object to be inspected based on the detected intensity; and a locating unit configured to locate one of a plurality of objective lenses having different focal lengths and having the same dispersion amount on an optical axis at a position on an optical path of the measuring light opposed to the object to be inspected.

A low coherence interferometry imaging system 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 invention 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, the common-path interferometer arrangement of the present invention avoids 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.

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.

In a measurement by means of OCT, when dispersion is present in a measured target or an optical system in the vicinity of the measured target, resolution of the measurement is degraded. One spectral interference fringe intensity is acquired when a phase difference between measurement light and reference light is not introduced, two spectral interference fringe intensities are acquired in a time-series manner when a phase difference of is introduced, a required calculation is performed based on the intensity, and a tomographic image not having reduced resolution due to dispersion is acquired.

A high-dispersion retroreflector includes filter glass transparent at least in near infra-red (NIR) wavelengths and configured to cause differential dispersion of incident broadband low-coherent light in the at least NIR wavelengths.

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.