System and method for characterizing and correcting the optical response of an optical coherence tomography system

1. A method for correcting an optical response of an OCT interferometry system, the method comprising:

characterizing the optical response of the OCT interferometry system, wherein characterizing the optical response comprises:

generating electromagnetic radiation through a range of wavelengths based on an input signal, wherein each wavelength of generated electromagnetic radiation in the range of wavelengths corresponds to a portion of the input signal;

splitting the electromagnetic radiation through a reference path and a sample path, wherein a sample does not lie in the sample path;

for each wavelength of the range of wavelengths, detecting the electromagnetic radiation returned from the reference path and the sample path;

generating an output signal corresponding to the received electromagnetic radiation and associated with each wavelength of the received electromagnetic radiation; and

processing the output signals to determine for each wavelength in the range of wavelengths an optical loss of the OCT interferometry system;

calculating a corrected input signal as a function of wavelength of electromagnetic radiation based on the determined optical loss, wherein for each wavelength of the range of wavelengths the corrected input signal is calculated by modifying the corresponding portion of the input signal based on the determined optical loss for the wavelength, such that when pre-emphasized electromagnetic radiation is split through the reference path and the sample path, the electromagnetic radiation returning from the reference path and the sample path does not contain periodic variations in intensity as a function of wavelength;

generating the pre-emphasized electromagnetic radiation based on the corrected input signal.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

splitting the electromagnetic radiation through the reference path and the sample path, wherein the sample lies in the sample path;

detecting electromagnetic radiation returned from the reference path and the sample path, wherein the detector generates output signals corresponding to the received electromagnetic radiation; and

processing the output signals to generate an image.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the electromagnetic radiation when characterizing the optical response comprises generating the electromagnetic radiation such that an intensity of the detected electromagnetic radiation is approximately constant across the range of wavelengths.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

a proxy reflector is inserted into the sample path such that electromagnetic radiation split through the sample path reflects off of the proxy reflector and generates a fringe signal, the fringe signal comprising electromagnetic radiation returning from the sample path; and

determining the optical loss comprises measuring an amplitude envelope of the output signal and calculating a correction signal from the amplitude envelope such that, when the generated electromagnetic radiation is pre-emphasized according to the correction signal and split through the reference path and the sample path, the detected electromagnetic radiation does not contain periodic variation in magnitude.

5. A system comprising:

an electromagnetic radiation source operable to generate electromagnetic radiation through a range of wavelengths based on an input signal, wherein each wavelength of the generated electromagnetic radiation in the range of wavelengths corresponds to a portion of the input signal;

an OCT interferometer coupled to the electromagnetic radiation source, wherein the OCT interferometer includes a reference path and a sample path;

a detector configured to:

receive electromagnetic radiation returned from the reference path and the sample path for each wavelength of the range of wavelengths; and

generate an output signal corresponding to the received electromagnetic radiation and associated with each wavelength of the received electromagnetic radiation; and

a controller coupled to the detector and the electromagnetic radiation source, wherein the controller:

selectively causes electromagnetic radiation to be generated through the range of wavelengths when a sample does not lie in the sample path;

processes the output signals to determine for each wavelength in the range of wavelengths an optical loss of the system; and

calculates a corrected input signal as a function of wavelength of electromagnetic radiation based on the determined optical loss, wherein for each wavelength of the range of wavelengths the corrected input signal is calculated by modifying the corresponding portion of the input signal based on the determined optical loss for the wavelength, such that the electromagnetic radiation returning from the reference path and the sample path does not contain periodic variations in intensity as a function of wavelength;

selectively causes pre-emphasized electromagnetic radiation to be generated based on the corrected input signal.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein selectively causing electromagnetic radiation to be generated when a sample does not lie in the sample path comprises selectively causing electromagnetic radiation to be generated having an intensity that is approximately constant across the range of wavelengths.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the optical loss is compensated for using a correction proportional to the inverse of the output signals.

8. The system of claim 5 , wherein the at least one electromagnetic radiation source is a semiconductor tunable laser source.

9. The system of claim 5 , wherein the source comprises a semiconductor laser.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the source is a sample grating distributed Bragg reflector (SG-DBR) laser.