High-speed and wide bandwidth Fourier domain mode-locked wavelength swept laser with multiple SOAs

We report on the development of a high-speed, wide bandwidth Fourier domain mode-locked (FDML) wavelength swept laser of around 1300 nm using two gain media for high-resolution and high-speed Fourier domain optical coherence tomography. The wavelength swept laser is capable of FWHM scanning range of more than 135 nm at 45.6 kHz sweeping rate. The measured axial resolution of the forward scan is 6.6 mu m in air and 4.7 mu m in tissue. The peak power is 11.4 mW for both the forward and backward scans. The measured system sensitivity is achieved up to 100.7 dB. We also demonstrate OCT imaging using the FDML wavelength swept laser with two semiconductor optical amplifiers. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America