Wide-angle KTa1−xNbxO3 deflector for swept light source using DC charge technique

Abstract

A 5-pass KTa1−xNbxO3 (KTN) deflector based on a DC charge technique for the swept light source of an optical coherence tomography system is proposed. The DC charge technique used in a 3-pass KTN deflector enables us to obtain the long-term stability of the optical power without any degradation of the important features of the swept light source. Experimental results confirm that the coherence length of a swept light source with the 5-pass KTN deflector using the DC charge technique is almost equal to that using a precharge technique reported previously. This means that the DC charge technique does not degrade the coherence length. There are limitation values for applied voltage, the KTN electrode gap, relative dielectric constant, and sweep frequency of the KTN deflector in terms of obtaining long coherence length. We believe that a 7-pass KTN deflector is effective for obtaining a longer coherence length.