All-fiber wavelength swept ring laser based on Fabry-Perot filter for optical frequency domain imaging

Abstract

Innovations in laser engineering have yielded several novel configurations for high repetition rate, broad sweep range, and long coherence length wavelength swept lasers. Although these lasers have enabled high performance frequency-domain optical coherence tomography, they are typically complicated and costly and many require access to proprietary materials or devices. Here, we demonstrate a simplified ring resonator configuration that is straightforward to construct from readily available materials at a low total cost. It was enabled by an insight regarding the significance of isolation against bidirectional operation and by configuring the sweep range of the intracavity filter to exceed its free spectral range. The design can easily be optimized to meet a range of operating specifications while yielding robust and stable performance. As an example, we demonstrate 240 kHz operation with 125 nm sweep range and > 70 mW of average output power and demonstrate high quality frequency domain OCT imaging. The complete component list and directions for assembly of the laser are posted on-line at www.octresearch.org. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America