A two- and three-dimensional swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) system, which uses a ready-to-ship scanning light source, is demonstrated. The light source has a center wavelength of 1.31 mum, -3 dB wavelength range of 110 nm, scanning rate of 20 KHz, and high linearity in frequency scanning. This paper presents a simple calibration method using a fringe analysis technique for spectral rescaling. This SS-OCT system is capable of realtime display of two-dimensional OCT and can obtain three-dimensional OCT with a measurement time of 2 s. In vivo human anterior eye segments are investigated two- and three-dimensionally. The system sensitivity is experimentally determined to be 114 dB. The three-dimensional OCT volumes reveal the structures of the anterior eye segments, which are difficult to observe in two-dimensional OCT images.

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CdF2/CaF2 resonant tunneling diode (RTD) structures of 100 nm diameter were fabricated in SiO2 hole arrays formed on Si(100) substrates. RTD structures were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) in SiO2 hole arrays. After the growth of the initial CaF2 layer at a substrate temperature of 120 °C, in situ annealing at 500 °C was carried out to reduce the density of defects or pinholes in the barrier layer. In the measurement of current–voltage (I–V) characteristics, negative differential resistance (NDR) was clearly demonstrated at room temperature. The peak-to-valley current ratio (PVCR) was 106. The valley current was significantly suppressed. Results obtained here strongly indicates that the RTD structures proposed in this study are promising for high-quality NDR elements compatible with Si LSI technology based on Si(100) substrates.

This paper presents the first successful demonstration of all-optical MEMS (microelectromechanical system) fiber endoscope for OCT (optical coherence tomography) measurement. A MEMS optical scanner for spatial light modulation has been assembled in the endoscope probe head (φ 6 mm) with optical components and a photovoltaic cell. Actuation energy for the MEMS scanner is optically supplied by using a 1.5 μm light of 10 mW, and OCT probing is operated by another wavelength at 1.3 μm. Use of optical fiber for both powering and measurement makes a safe endoscope that is free from the risk of electrocution or electromagnetic interference.

This paper reports on a technique to improve the coherence length of a high-speed wavelength swept laser. The wavelength swept laser comprises a pigtailed semiconductor optical amplifier and a wavelength-scanning filter in a fiber extended cavity configuration. The laser operates in the 1310 nm wavelength region. The tunable filter consists of a diffraction grating and polygon mirror scanner. Littrow arrangement of external cavity in a specific geometry realizes the quasi-phase continuous tuning over wavelength range emphasizing coherent amplification of cavity modes resulting in spectral narrowing of the instantaneous linewidth to about 0.06 nm. Improvement by a factor of two is confirmed in comparison with coherence length without using this technique. Peak power is 12 mW and wavelength swept range is 55 nm, from 1271 nm to 1326 nm. Measured coherence lengths of over 30 mm and 17 mm were achieved at scanning rates of 2.5 kHz and 20 kHz, respectively. Correlation of laser cavity parameters with spectral linewidth is also discussed by introducing the rate equations for multi-mode laser operation. Shorter cavity length is considered effective to further improve the coherence length in terms of shorter roundtrip time as well as higher mode suppression ratio because of higher carrier concentration on cavity modes around the filter center.