Abstract
Polarization mode dispersion (PMD), which can be induced by circulators or even moderate lengths of optical fiber, is known to be a dominant source of instrumentation noise in fiber-based PS-OCT systems. In this paper we propose a novel PMD compensation method that measures system PMD using three fixed calibration signals, numerically corrects for these instrument effects and reconstructs an improved sample image. Using a frequency multiplexed PS-OFDI setup, we validate the proposed method by comparing birefringence noise in images of intralipid, muscle, and tendon with and without PMD compensation.
Highlights
Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) [1, 2] combines the structural imaging of conventional OCT [3, 4] with the ability to map birefringence, diattenuation, and polarization-dependent scattering
A framework for quantifying the polarimetry noise induced by polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) revealed the significance of this noise; it was shown that a few meters of single-mode fiber can induce sufficient PMD to influence the polarimetry noise in high-resolution PS-OCT systems [9]
We demonstrated that for an appropriately designed PS-OCT system, we can numerically compensate for PMD induced before and after the sample by multiplying the detected fringe signals by compensation matrices Cin(k) and Cout(k) (see Eq (5))
Summary
Polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) [1, 2] combines the structural imaging of conventional OCT [3, 4] with the ability to map birefringence, diattenuation, and polarization-dependent scattering. The inclusion of optical fiber and the use of optical devices such as circulators invariably introduces polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) and polarization-dependent loss (PDL) into the system. It was recognized in early PSOCT development that PMD can degrade system performance [8]. A framework for quantifying the polarimetry noise induced by PMD revealed the significance of this noise; it was shown that a few meters of single-mode fiber can induce sufficient PMD to influence the polarimetry noise in high-resolution PS-OCT systems [9]
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