title: En-face scanning optical coherence tomography with ultra-high resolution for material investigation.
abstract: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emerging technique for cross-sectional imaging, originally developed for biological structures. When OCT is employed for material investigation, high-resolution and short measurement times are required, and for many applications, only transversal (en-face) scans yield substantial information which cannot be obtained from cross-sectional images oriented perpendicularly to the sample surface alone. In this work, we combine transversal with ultra-high resolution OCT: a broadband femto-second laser is used as a light source in combination with acousto-optic modulators for heterodyne signal generation and detection. With our setup we are able to scan areas as large as 3 x 3 mm2 with a sensitivity of 100 dB, representing areas 100 times larger compared to other high-resolution en-face OCT systems (full field). We demonstrate the benefits of en-face scanning for different applications in materials investigation.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wiesauer
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pircher
authors.forename: Erich
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Götzinger
authors.forename: Siegfried
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Engelke
authors.forename: Gisela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ahrens
authors.forename: Gabi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grützner
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hitzenberger
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stifter