Supercontinuum generation for ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography at wavelength of 0.8 µm using carbon nanotube fiber laser and similariton amplifier

Abstract

We demonstrated supercontinuum (SC) generation for ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography (UHR-OCT) in the 0.8 µm wavelength region using an ultrashort-pulse fiber laser system. An Er-doped ultrashort-pulse fiber laser with single-wall carbon nanotubes was developed as the seed pulse source. A 46 fs, highest quality, pedestal-free, clean, ultrashort pulse was generated with a similariton amplifier. Then, a 60 fs ideal ultrashort pulse was generated at a wavelength of 0.8 µm with a second-harmonic generation (SHG) crystal, and a Gaussian-like SC was generated in a photonic crystal fiber. UHR-OCT was demonstrated using the generated SC, and precise images of a biological sample were observed.