High efficiency balanced detection interferometer

US7388672B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Carl Ziess Meditec AG · US

Inventors

• Yan Zhou · Solna, SE
• Matthew J. Everett · Livermore, US
• Martin Hacker · Jena, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 2, 2005
• Grant date: Jun 17, 2008
• Expiry date: Oct 10, 2026

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01B2290/40
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An interferometer configured for use in optical coherence domain (OCT) reflectometry systems is disclosed. In the preferred embodiments, efficient routing of light and a balanced detection arrangement provide a high signal to noise ratio. In a first set of embodiments, a 3×3 coupler is used to split light along separate sample and reference paths and also for combining light returning from those paths and supplying the interfered collected light to the detection system. In an alternate set of embodiments, a pair of cascaded 2×2 couplers provides a similar function. The interferometer can be used with various OCT modalities including time-domain and frequency domain approaches.