High-speed, high-resolution optical coherence tomography retinal imaging with a frequency-swept laser at 850 nm

High-speed, high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging of the human retina is demonstrated using a frequency-swept laser at 850 nm. A compact external cavity semiconductor laser design, optimized for swept-source ophthalmic OCT, is described. The laser enables an effective 16 kHz sweep rate with > 10 mm coherence length and a tuning range of similar to 35 nm full width at half-maximum, yielding an axial resolution of < 7 mu m in tissue. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.