This application claims priority of PCT Application Serial No. PCT/EP01/11908, filed Oct. 16, 2001 and German Application No. 100 53 154.1, filed Oct. 26, 2000, the complete disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
a) Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to the short coherence interferometry “z-scan” or depth scan for measuring the depth position of light-reemitting object structures in optical coherence interferometry (PCI=Partial Coherence Interferometry) and in optical coherence tomography (OCT) by matching the optical length of the reference arm of a two-beam interferometer to the optical length of the measurement arm by means of the interference occurring at the interferometer output.
b) Description of the Related Art
In optical PCI and OCT, depth positions of light-reemitting object structures are measured by means of short coherence interferometry by matching the optical length of the reference arm of a two-beam interferometer to the length of the measurement arm. In this connection, the object 1 forms a mirror of a two-beam interferometer, for example, a Michelson interferometer, as is indicated in
of the light which is used; in this case, λ is the mean wavelength and Δλ is the wavelength bandwidth of the radiation that is used. In order to detect the x-coordinate in OCT, the object 1 is moved in x-direction or, as is indicated in dashed lines in
There are a number of modifications of this basic method of OCT, some of which are described in the general overview by A. F. Fercher, “Optical Coherence Tomography”, J. Biomed. Opt. 1 (1996): 157–173. Common to all of these modifications is the need for light sources with spatially coherent light.
Spatially coherent light sources have the characteristic that their temporal coherence, and therefore the coherence length of the emitted light, is also relatively large, which is disadvantageous when used in PCI and OCT. At the present time, typical wavelength bandwidths of the superluminescent diodes used in PCI and OCT are 30 nm, for example. At a typical mean wavelength of 800 nm, this gives a coherence length of about 21 micrometers. However, this results in a rather poor accuracy for determining the z-position compared with other interferometry methods.
Conversely, light sources with short coherence length also have low spatial coherence. While there are also laser light sources with high spatial coherence and very short temporal coherence such as the Titanium-Sapphire laser, the latter is exorbitantly expensive and represents a complicated technology.
Light sources with especially short coherence length include transverse multimode lasers and transverse multimode light emitting diodes (LEDs) on the one hand and broadband spontaneously emitting light sources on the other hand. Further, transversely oscillating superluminescent diodes would also have an extremely short coherence length. Transversely oscillating superluminescent diodes of this kind are obtained when the active zone of these light sources has a thicker construction, which would also appreciably increase their output power (however, they are not yet commercially available due to a lack of possible applications). All of these light sources have only partial spatial coherence. Moreover, the spontaneously emitting light sources do not generate light based on induced emission like lasers, superluminescent diodes and LEDs. These light sources on the one hand and broadband spontaneously emitting light sources on the other hand. Further, transversely oscillating superluminescent diodes would also have an extremely short coherence length. Transversely oscillating superluminescent diodes of this kind are obtained when the active zone of these light sources has a thicker construction, which would also appreciably increase their output power (however, they are not yet commercially available due to a lack of possible applications). All of these light sources have only partial spatial coherence. Moreover, the spontaneously emitting light sources do not generate light based on induced emission like lasers, superluminescent diodes and LEDs. These light sources include incandescent lamps, arc lamps and gas discharge lamps. Halogen bulbs, for instance, emit light in a range of λ=500 nm to λ=1300 mm. Coherence lengths of lc=0.9 μm correspond to this. These light sources also have only partial spatial coherence. Their use in OCT would, for example, appreciably improve the attainable z-resolution on the one hand and, due to the simple handling and cheapness of these light sources, would also reduce the cost of PCI and OCT devices.
Therefore, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide methods and arrangements for implementing the short coherence interferometry “z-scan” or depth scan for measuring the depth position of light-reemitting object structures in optical coherence interferometry and in optical coherence tomography by matching the optical length of the reference arm of a two-beam interferometer to the optical length of the measurement arm by means of the interference occurring at the output of the two-beam interferometer, which methods and arrangements allow the use of spatially partially coherent light sources.
In the drawings:
The following reference numbers are used:
Spatially partially coherent light sources such as transverse multimode lasers, transversely oscillating superluminescent diodes, gas discharge lamps, arc lamps and incandescent lamps are used in the method according to the invention and the object is scanned by the image 15 of these primary light sources 14 or of the secondary light source (20 or 23) derived therefrom by imaging (see
This is achieved in that the light source is imaged by the measurement light beam path and the reference light beam path on the photodetector 10 in the same scale and in a congruent manner. For this purpose, the optical and geometric light paths from the beam splitter to the reference mirror and to the object must have equal length; and, further, arrangements must be used in the reference beam and in the measurement beam which have identical optical elements with equal focal lengths and glass paths and equal distances between these optical elements in the reference beam and in the measurement beam from the beam splitter 4.
The method according to the invention has some similarity to the Linnik interference microscope (described, for example, in the monograph by W. H. Steel, “Interferometry”, Cambridge University Press). Both methods image the light source on the object and reference mirror and, further, on the interferometer output. However, the Linnik interference microscope visualizes the shape of the object surface in relation to the shape of the reference mirror by means of interference fringes in the image of the object at the interferometer output. Therefore, it can only measure surfaces. In contrast, the device described herein scans the object with the image of the light source and synthesizes an image from the interference signals obtained at the interferometer output. Surface images as well as depth images can be obtained.
In
An image 20 of a spatially partially coherent light source 19 can also be used at the location of the light source 14, as is shown in detail A which is indicated in dashed lines in
In the arrangement shown in
It is not advantageous to carry out the z-scan by displacing the object 1 itself, at least with larger objects. An alternative is shown in
In this case, the z-scan is achieved by moving the optics 13 along the optical axis by Δz. For this purpose, the optics 13 are mounted, for example, on a displacing table 26 which is driven by a stepping motor 27. In order to ensure temporal coherence between the measurement beam 7 and the reference beam 18, the optics 13 and 17 must be moved synchronously by the same amount Δz. Further, the reference mirror 6 must also be moved synchronously with the optics 17 by Δz. This common movement can be ensured by means of a mechanical connection 24 between the optics 17 and reference mirror 6 which is controlled by a stepping motor 25. Since the reference light beam 5 coming from the beam splitter 4 extends parallel in this case, the spatial coherence of the images of the light source 14 is not changed at all by this.
Because of the geometrically optical beam refraction at the surface of the object, movements of the light source image 15 which diverge from the amount of the z-scan can occur in the object. For example, the position of the light source image 15 in the object in case of a plane object surface is displaced by a factor n.nG greater than a corresponding displacement of the optics 13 (n is the phase index, nG is the group index of the object 1). In order to compensate for this, the optics 13 are only displaced by Δz/(n.nG). Other corrections are required in case of curved object surfaces.
While the foregoing description and drawings represent the present invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made therein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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100 53 154 | Oct 2000 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP01/11908 | 10/16/2001 | WO | 00 | 10/10/2002 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO02/35179 | 5/2/2002 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5321501 | Swanson et al. | Jun 1994 | A |
5579112 | Sugiyama et al. | Nov 1996 | A |
5877856 | Fercher | Mar 1999 | A |
6002480 | Izatt et al. | Dec 1999 | A |
6057920 | Fercher et al. | May 2000 | A |
20030072007 | Fercher | Apr 2003 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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196 24 167 | Jan 1997 | DE |
100 33 189 | Sep 2001 | DE |
WO 9533971 | Dec 1995 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20030076506 A1 | Apr 2003 | US |