Measurement of absolute flow velocity vector using dual-angle, delay-encoded Doppler optical coherence tomography

Single-beam laser Doppler measurements of flow velocity are only sensitive to the velocity component parallel to the optical axis. We describe a simple modification to a standard Doppler optical coherence tomography (OCT) system using a single sample beam that provides velocity information from multiple angles within the beam. By introducing a glass plate midway into the OCT beam path, the sample beam is divided into several components, each with a different group delay and each providing a separate interferogram with its own effective Doppler angle. By combining the Doppler shift measured in each of these component interferograms, the flow velocity vector is fully determined. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.