High speed frequency swept light source at 1550nm for fourier domain OCT with A-scanning rate at 20kHz

We demonstrate a high-speed tuneable, continuous wave laser source at 1550nm for Fourier domain OCT imaging. The light source was based on a pigtailed semiconductor optical amplifier and a diffraction grating and polygon mirror for fast frequency tuning. This source provides frequency scan rate of up to 20kHz over a wavelength range of 80nm (60nm FWHM) at the central wavelength of 1550nm, offering an axial resolution of ~17 microns.