Optical tomographic imaging apparatus and imaging method therefor to acquire images indicating polarization information

摘要

An imaging apparatus adjusts the polarization directions of irradiation beams (to a diffraction grating) corresponding to first and second beams respectively which have different polarization directions (for example, by adjusting a relative angle formed between light-emitting ends of respective polarization maintaining fibers) so that the spectral characteristics of the irradiation beams at the diffraction grating coincide with each other. Then, the imaging apparatus acquires a tomographic image indicating polarization information for a object based on beams (that come from the diffraction grating for splitting and diffracting a beam from the adjustment unit) corresponding to the first and second beams respectively which have different polarization directions.

主权项

1. An optical tomographic imaging apparatus comprising:
a polarization beam splitter that splits a combined beam into first and second beams having different polarization directions, the combined beam being formed by combining a return beam from an object with a reference beam corresponding to the measuring beam, the object being irradiated with the measuring beam; a polarization adjuster that adjusts at least one of the polarization directions of the first and second beams so that the polarization directions of the first and second beams are aligned with each other; a common diffraction grating configured to separately disperse the first and second beams in the adjusted polarization direction; a detector that separately detects the first and second dispersed beams; and a processor that acquires a tomographic image indicating polarization information of the object based on the first and second detected beams.