Open AccessOptical coherence tomography axial resolution improvement by step-frequency encoding
Author(s) -
Evgenia Bousi,
Ismini Charalambous,
Costas Pitris
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.18.011877
Subject(s) - optical coherence tomography , optics , deconvolution , resolution (logic) , frequency domain , bandwidth (computing) , encoding (memory) , autocorrelation , computer science , coherence (philosophical gambling strategy) , image resolution , spatial frequency , physics , computer vision , telecommunications , artificial intelligence , mathematics , statistics , quantum mechanics
A novel technique for axial resolution improvement of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) systems is proposed. The technique is based on step-frequency encoding, using frequency shifting, of the OCT signal. A resolution improvement by a factor of approximately 7 is achieved without the need for a broader bandwidth light source. This method exploits a combination of two basic principles: the appearance of beating, when adding two signals of slightly different carrier frequencies, and the resolution improvement by deconvolution of the interferogram with an encoded autocorrelation function. In time domain OCT, step-frequency encoding can be implemented by performing two scans, with different carrier frequencies, and subsequently adding them to create the encoded signal. When the frequency steps are properly selected, deconvolution of the resulting interferogram, using appropriate kernels, results in a narrower resolution width.