Swept source optical coherence tomography with external clocking using voltage controlled oscillator

In this study, a beat signal recalibration method was developed for optical coherence tomography (OCT) with a high-speed wavelength-swept source. By adopting a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) modulated by a sinusoidal waveform as a trigger for the OCT system, the broadening of the beat frequency due to laser tuning rate variations was recalibrated. For this study, OCT based on a Fourier domain mode-locked (FDML) laser at a sweep rate of 60.9 kHz was demonstrated. OCT images of 1500x409 pixels were obtained with the sensitivity of 100 dB. Temporal frequency variations in the FDML laser and OCT images obtained with the proposed technique were also described. When compared to a conventional recalibration method using optical components, swept source optical coherence tomography operated with a VCO clock exhibited superior performance and high stability. From the experimental results, it was demonstrated that the proposed method is sufficient to recalibrate the time-frequency variations in interferometry with a high-speed wavelength-swept source. (C) 2011 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). [DOI: 10.1117/1.3577705]