Expanding Horizons of Optical Coherence Tomography -Industrial and Scientific Applications

Book Abstract

This Book ?Expanding Horizons of Optical Coherence Tomography -Industrial and Scientific Applications? contains Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a promising non-invasive non-contact 3D imaging technique that can be used to evaluate and inspect material surfaces, multilayer polymer films,fiber coils, and coatings. OCT can be used for the examination of cultural heritage objects and 3D imaging of microstructures.With subsurface 3D fingerprint imaging capability, OCT could be a valuable tool for enhancing security in biometric applications.OCT can also be used for the evaluation of fastener flushness for improving aerodynamic performance of high-speed aircraft.More and more OCT non-medical applications are emerging. In this book, we present some recent advancements in OCT technology and non-medical applications. The imaging penetration depth of an optical coherence tomography (OCT)system is limited by the dynamic range of the system. In a common case that signals exceed the dynamic range of a Fourier domain OCT (FDOCT) system, saturation artifacts degrade the image quality. In this chapter, we demonstrate some new cost-effective techniques to improve the dynamic range of a swept-source OCT (SSOCT) system. For example, one method is based on a dual-channel detection technique to enhance the dynamic range by reconstructing the saturated signals due to strong reflection of the sample surface. Another method utilizes a tunable high-pass filter to compensate the attenuation of light signal in deep tissue. It was demonstrated that these techniques can improve the dynamic range of an SSOCT system by more than 10 dB with a low bit-depth analog-to-digital converter.