title: Wideband Electrically-Pumped 1050 nm MEMS-Tunable VCSEL for Ophthalmic Imaging.
abstract: In this paper, we present a 1050 nm electrically-pumped micro-electro-mechanically-tunable vertical-cavity-surface-emitting-laser (MEMS-VCSEL) with a record dynamic tuning bandwidth of 63.8 nm, suitable for swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) imaging. These devices provide reduced cost & complexity relative to previously demonstrated optically pumped devices by obviating the need for a pump laser and associated hardware. We demonstrate ophthalmic SS-OCT imaging with the electrically-pumped MEMS-VCSEL at a 400 kHz axial scan rate for wide field imaging of the in vivo human retina over a 12 mm × 12 mm field and for OCT angiography of the macula over 6 mm × 6 mm & 3 mm × 3 mm fields to show retinal vasculature and capillary structure near the fovea. These results demonstrate the feasibility of electrically pumped MEMS-VCSELs in ophthalmic instrumentation, the largest clinical application of OCT. In addition, we estimate that the 3 dB coherence length in air is 225 meters ± 51 meters, far greater than required for ophthalmic SS-OCT and suggestive of other distance ranging applications.
authors.affiliation: Demis D. John, Martin E. Robertson, Christopher B. Burgner and Vijay Jayaraman are with Praevium Research, Inc., 5385 Hollister Avenue, Suite #211, Santa Barbara, CA 93111, U.S.A. ByungKun Lee, Woo Jhon Choi and James G. Fujimoto are with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Vassar Street, Room 36-361, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A. Benjamin Potsaid and Alex Cable are with Thorlabs Inc., 56 Sparta Ave., Newton, New Jersey 07860, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Demis D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: John
authors.affiliation: Demis D. John, Martin E. Robertson, Christopher B. Burgner and Vijay Jayaraman are with Praevium Research, Inc., 5385 Hollister Avenue, Suite #211, Santa Barbara, CA 93111, U.S.A. ByungKun Lee, Woo Jhon Choi and James G. Fujimoto are with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Vassar Street, Room 36-361, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A. Benjamin Potsaid and Alex Cable are with Thorlabs Inc., 56 Sparta Ave., Newton, New Jersey 07860, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Christopher B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Burgner
authors.affiliation: Demis D. John, Martin E. Robertson, Christopher B. Burgner and Vijay Jayaraman are with Praevium Research, Inc., 5385 Hollister Avenue, Suite #211, Santa Barbara, CA 93111, U.S.A. ByungKun Lee, Woo Jhon Choi and James G. Fujimoto are with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Vassar Street, Room 36-361, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A. Benjamin Potsaid and Alex Cable are with Thorlabs Inc., 56 Sparta Ave., Newton, New Jersey 07860, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Potsaid
authors.affiliation: Demis D. John, Martin E. Robertson, Christopher B. Burgner and Vijay Jayaraman are with Praevium Research, Inc., 5385 Hollister Avenue, Suite #211, Santa Barbara, CA 93111, U.S.A. ByungKun Lee, Woo Jhon Choi and James G. Fujimoto are with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Vassar Street, Room 36-361, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A. Benjamin Potsaid and Alex Cable are with Thorlabs Inc., 56 Sparta Ave., Newton, New Jersey 07860, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Martin E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.affiliation: Demis D. John, Martin E. Robertson, Christopher B. Burgner and Vijay Jayaraman are with Praevium Research, Inc., 5385 Hollister Avenue, Suite #211, Santa Barbara, CA 93111, U.S.A. ByungKun Lee, Woo Jhon Choi and James G. Fujimoto are with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Vassar Street, Room 36-361, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A. Benjamin Potsaid and Alex Cable are with Thorlabs Inc., 56 Sparta Ave., Newton, New Jersey 07860, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Byung Kun
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Demis D. John, Martin E. Robertson, Christopher B. Burgner and Vijay Jayaraman are with Praevium Research, Inc., 5385 Hollister Avenue, Suite #211, Santa Barbara, CA 93111, U.S.A. ByungKun Lee, Woo Jhon Choi and James G. Fujimoto are with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Vassar Street, Room 36-361, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A. Benjamin Potsaid and Alex Cable are with Thorlabs Inc., 56 Sparta Ave., Newton, New Jersey 07860, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Woo Jhon
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Demis D. John, Martin E. Robertson, Christopher B. Burgner and Vijay Jayaraman are with Praevium Research, Inc., 5385 Hollister Avenue, Suite #211, Santa Barbara, CA 93111, U.S.A. ByungKun Lee, Woo Jhon Choi and James G. Fujimoto are with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Vassar Street, Room 36-361, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A. Benjamin Potsaid and Alex Cable are with Thorlabs Inc., 56 Sparta Ave., Newton, New Jersey 07860, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Alex E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Cable
authors.affiliation: Demis D. John, Martin E. Robertson, Christopher B. Burgner and Vijay Jayaraman are with Praevium Research, Inc., 5385 Hollister Avenue, Suite #211, Santa Barbara, CA 93111, U.S.A. ByungKun Lee, Woo Jhon Choi and James G. Fujimoto are with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Vassar Street, Room 36-361, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A. Benjamin Potsaid and Alex Cable are with Thorlabs Inc., 56 Sparta Ave., Newton, New Jersey 07860, U.S.A.
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.affiliation: Demis D. John, Martin E. Robertson, Christopher B. Burgner and Vijay Jayaraman are with Praevium Research, Inc., 5385 Hollister Avenue, Suite #211, Santa Barbara, CA 93111, U.S.A. ByungKun Lee, Woo Jhon Choi and James G. Fujimoto are with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 50 Vassar Street, Room 36-361, Cambridge, MA 02139, U.S.A. Benjamin Potsaid and Alex Cable are with Thorlabs Inc., 56 Sparta Ave., Newton, New Jersey 07860, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Vijaysekhar
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Jayaraman
keywords: Medical Imaging; Micro and Nano Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MOEMS); Optical Coherence Tomography; Semiconductor Lasers; Tunable Lasers