Performance of fourier domain vs. time domain optical coherence tomography

In this article we present a detailed discussion of noise sources in Fourier Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (FDOCT) setups. The performance of FDOCT with charge coupled device (CCD) cameras is compared to current standard time domain OCT systems. We describe how to measure sensitivity in the case of FDOCT and confirm the theoretically obtained values. It is shown that FDOCT systems have a large sensitivity advantage and allow for sensitivities well above 80dB, even in situations with low light levels and high speed detection. (C) 2003 Optical Society of America.