Authors:	G. Yurtsever, Boris Povazay, Aneesh Alex, Behrooz Zabihian, Wolfgang Drexler, R. Baets
Title:	Photonic integrated Mach-Zehnder interferometer with an on-chip reference arm for optical coherence tomography
Format:	International Journal
Publication date:	3/2014
Journal/Conference/Book:	Biomedical Optics Express
Editor/Publisher:	OSA,
Volume(Issue):	5(4) p.1050-1061
DOI:	10.1364/boe.5.001050
Citations:	81 (Dimensions.ai - last update: 17/11/2024) 68 (OpenCitations - last update: 27/6/2024) Look up on Google Scholar
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Abstract

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive, threedimensional
imaging modality with several medical and industrial
applications. Integrated photonics has the potential to enable mass
production of OCT devices to significantly reduce size and cost, which can
increase its use in established fields as well as enable new applications.
Using silicon nitride (Si3N4) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) waveguides, we
fabricated an integrated interferometer for spectrometer-based OCT. The
integrated photonic circuit consists of four splitters and a 190 mm long
reference arm with a foot-print of only 10 × 33 mm2. It is used as the core
of a spectral domain OCT system consisting of a superluminescent diode
centered at 1320 nm with 100 nm bandwidth, a spectrometer with 1024
channels, and an x-y scanner. The sensitivity of the system was measured at
0.25 mm depth to be 65 dB with 0.1 mW on the sample. Using the system,
we imaged human skin in vivo. With further optimization in design and
fabrication technology, Si3N4/SiO2 waveguides have a potential to serve as
a platform for passive photonic integrated circuits for OCT.

Related Research Topics

• Integrated Optical Coherence Tomography Components