Apparatus and method for ranging and noise reduction of low coherence interferometry LCI and optical coherence tomography OCT signals by parallel detection of spectral bands
US7630083B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 13, 2007 |
| Grant date | Dec 8, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 13, 2027 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01B2290/45
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Apparatus and method for increasing the sensitivity in the detection of optical coherence tomography and low coherence interferometry (“LCI”) signals by detecting a parallel set of spectral bands, each band being a unique combination of optical frequencies. The LCI broad bandwidth source is split into N spectral bands. The N spectral bands are individually detected and processed to provide an increase in the signal-to-noise ratio by a factor of N. Each spectral band is detected by a separate photo detector and amplified. For each spectral band the signal is band pass filtered around the signal band by analog electronics and digitized, or, alternatively, the signal may be digitized and band pass filtered in software. As a consequence, the shot noise contribution to the signal is reduced by a factor equal to the number of spectral bands. The signal remains the same. The reduction of the shot noise increases the dynamic range and sensitivity of the system.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.