Q.

4:- Elaborate with diagram working principle, salient features,

details and applications of optical coherence tomography?
Solution:-Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-contact
imaging technique which generates cross-sectional images of tissue
with high resolution. Therefor it is especially valuable in organs, where
traditional microscopic tissue diagnosis by means of biopsy is not
available—such as the human eye.
Diagram and working principal of OCT:-
An archetypal OCT system contains a low-coherence broadband light
source. The emitted light is coupled into an interferometer. Then the
light is divided into two arms: reference arm and sample arm. The
reference arm transmits the light toward a reference mirror. The sample
arm sends the light toward the tissue of interest. The sample arm also
contains an objective lens which focuses the light onto the sample tissue
(e.g., brain, retina, and carotid artery). The light which is backscattered
from the tissue structures is recombined with the reference light
reflected from a highly reflective (>95%) moving reference mirror,
producing an interference pattern that is detected by a light detector. To
reconstruct the two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) cross-
sectional objects, the beam is scanned across the sample surface. More
complex systems may include a CCD camera and diffraction grating.

Spectral discrimination by swept-source OCT.

swept source or tunable laser (SS), beamsplitter (BS), reference mirror
(REF), sample (SMP), photodetector (PD), and digital signal processing
(DSP).
OCT synthesises cross-sectional images from a series of laterally
adjacent depth-scans. At present OCT is used in three different fields of
optical imaging, in macroscopic imaging of structures which can be seen
by the naked eye or using weak magnifications, in microscopic imaging
using magnifications up to the classical limit of microscopic resolution
and in endoscopic imaging, using low and medium magnification. First,
OCT techniques, like the reflectometry technique and the dual beam
technique were based on time-domain low coherence interferometry
depth-scans. Later, Fourier-domain techniques have been developed and
led to new imaging schemes. Recently developed parallel OCT schemes
eliminate the need for lateral scanning and, therefore, dramatically
increase the imaging rate. These schemes use CCD cameras and CMOS
detector arrays as photodetectors. Video-rate three-dimensional OCT
pictures have been obtained. Modifying interference microscopy
techniques has led to high-resolution optical coherence microscopy that
achieved sub-micrometre resolution.
OCT is useful in diagnosing many eye conditions, including:
 macular hole
 macular pucker
 macular edema
 age-related macular degeneration
 glaucoma
 central serous retinopathy
 diabetic retinopathy
 vitreous traction
OCT is often used to evaluate disorders of the optic nerve as well. The
OCT exam helps your ophthalmologist see changes to the fibers of the
optic nerve. For example, it can detect changes caused by glaucoma.
Q.5- Using diagrams explain how can a laser be used for measurement
of distance/length? How is current standard of length maintained?
Solution:- A laser distance meter works by use measuring the time it
takes a pulse of laser light to be reflected off a target and returned to
the sender. This is known as the "time of flight" principle, and the
method is known either as “time of flight” or “pulse” measurement.
Principle:- A laser distance meter emits a pulse of laser at a target. The
pulse then reflects off the target and back to the sending device (in this
case, a laser distance meter). This "time of flight" principle is based on
the fact that laser light travels at a fairly constant speed through the
Earth’s atmosphere. Inside the meter, a simple computer quickly
calculates the distance to target. This method of distance calculation is
capable of measuring the distance from the Earth to the moon within a
few centimeters. Laser distance meters may also be referred to as
“range finders” or “laser range finders.”

Calculating distance:- the interferometer has the reference arm fixed

and the pulse repetition frequency of the laser diode is swept over the
tuning range. The distance measurement is performed using the
frequencies associated to the two successive correlation peaks. This
configuration has no moving parts and its performance depends mainly
on the uncertainty of the measurement of the exact frequency at which
the correlation peaks occur.

Note that the quantity 2L corresponds to the interferometer optical

path difference.
This last expression shows that the absolute distance can be obtained
directly by measuring the frequency sweep range between two
consecutive correlation events.
The accuracy of the process is directly related to the ability of
measuring the beat frequency accurately, ultimately dependent on the
stability of the reference oscillator and on the error finding the
correlation peak.
Current standard of length:- The meter, symbol m, is the SI unit of
length. It is defined by taking the fixed numerical value of the speed of
light in vacuum c to be 299 792 458 when expressed in the unit m s-1,
where the second is defined in terms of ΔνCs.
The metre definition implies that length can be measured by measuring
the time a light beam takes to traverse a distance. This can be practically
realised in two ways:

1. Time of flight, where a pulse of light is sent over the length that is
to be measured.
2. Interferometry, where a length can be measured in terms of the
vacuum wavelength (λ) of a light source of known frequency (f), via
the relation.

                                                                                  λ =c0/f
The frequency of a light source (radiation) used in interferometry needs
to be determined in terms of the second or the frequency of radiation of
the caesium atom. This involves comparing the frequency of the
radiation used for length interferometry (usually visible to near infrared
430 nm to 900 nm, 330 THz to 700 THz) with a caesium clock with a
frequency of 9.1 GHz. Before the invention of optical frequency combs,
this was technically very challenging, but is now achievable in one step.