title: Supercontinuum as a light source for miniaturized endoscopes.
abstract: In this work, we have successfully implemented supercontinuum based illumination through single fiber coupling. The integration of a single fiber illumination with a miniature CMOS sensor forms a very slim and powerful camera module for endoscopic imaging. A set of tests andin vivoanimal experiments are conducted accordingly to characterize the corresponding illuminance, spectral profile, intensity distribution, and image quality. The key illumination parameters of the supercontinuum, including color rendering index (CRI: 72%~97%) and correlated color temperature (CCT: 3,100K~5,200K), are modified with external filters and compared with those from a LED light source (CRI~76% & CCT~6,500K). The very high spatial coherence of the supercontinuum allows high luminosity conduction through a single multimode fiber (core size~400μm), whose distal end tip is attached with a diffussion tip to broaden the solid angle of illumination (from less than 10° to more than 80°).
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biophotonics, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan; Business Solutions Laboratory, Chunghwa Telecom Research Institute, Taoyuan, 32661, Taiwan.
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biophotonics, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan.
authors.forename: H Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Division of Thoracic Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 11217, Taiwan.
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biophotonics, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan.
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Kao
keywords: (040.1490) Cameras; (060.3510) Lasers, fiber; (170.2150) Endoscopic imaging; (170.2945) Illumination design; (170.7160) Ultrafast technology