Relative intensity noise dynamics in supercontinuum generation with varying repetition rates for multi-modal imaging applications (Conference Presentation)

An all-fiberized tunable repetition rate (50kHz-10MHz) SC source for photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) is developed. OCT is a scattering based imaging technique, requiring low spectral noise. Noise level requirement in OCT is usually mitigated using high repetition rate (MHz) laser sources. On the other hand, PAM is a hybrid imaging modality based on optical absorption that requires high pulse energies, thus, sources operating at lower repetition rates (kHz) are preferred. Nevertheless, it is always important to quantify and understand the RIN dynamics of the SC sources for good quality PAM and OCT images.