title: Optical Coherence Tomographic Imaging of Human Tissue at 1.55 μm and 1.81 μm Using Er- and Tm-Doped Fiber Sources.
abstract: We demonstrate two short-coherence-length, rare-earth-doped fiber optical sources for performing optical coherence tomography (OCT) in human tissue. The first source is a stretched-pulse, mode-locked Er-doped fiber laser with a center wavelength of 1.55 μm, a power of 100 mW, and a bandwidth of 80 nm. The second is a Tm-doped silica fiber fluorescent source emitting up to 7 mW of power at 1.81 μm with a bandwidth of 80 nm. The OCT imaging depth of penetration in in vitro human aorta is compared using these sources and conventional 1.3-μm sources. © 1998 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Bouma
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Tearney
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Brezinski
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Fujimoto