Flexible waveguides for optical coherence tomography

摘要

A system and method for depth-resolved imaging of a sample are presented. The system for depth-resolved imaging of a sample includes a substrate of substantially flexible material, a plurality of waveguides disposed on the substrate, an optical element disposed at a distal end of the plurality of waveguides, and one or more interferometers. Light is collected from the sample through the optical element and plurality of waveguides on the flexible substrate on its path to the one or more interferometers. The interferometers are configured to combine a reference light with the light received by at least a portion of the plurality of waveguides to resolve contributions from one or more depths of the sample. The system further includes a light guiding element coupled between the plurality of waveguides and the one or more interferometers.

主权项

1. A method of making an optical coherence tomography system, comprising:
bonding a layer of semiconducting material to a layer of flexible material; thinning the layer of semiconducting material to a thickness less than 10 microns; patterning the layer of semiconducting material to form a plurality of waveguides bonded to the layer of flexible material; bending the layer of flexible material having the plurality of waveguides bonded thereto; and coupling the plurality of waveguides on the bent flexible material to one or more interferometers used to perform optical coherence tomography.