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Limits To Performance Improvement Provided By Balanced Interferometers And Balanced Detection In Oct/Ocm Instruments, David Liao, Adam E. Pivonka, Brendan R. Haberle, Daniel C. Petersen, Barbara M. Hoeling, Richard C. Haskell
Limits To Performance Improvement Provided By Balanced Interferometers And Balanced Detection In Oct/Ocm Instruments, David Liao, Adam E. Pivonka, Brendan R. Haberle, Daniel C. Petersen, Barbara M. Hoeling, Richard C. Haskell
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We compare the dynamic range of OCT/OCM instruments configured with unbalanced interferometers, e.g., Michelson interferometers, with that of instruments utilizing balanced interferometers and balanced photodetection. We define the dynamic range (DR) as the ratio of the maximum fringe amplitude achieved with a highly reflecting surface to the root-mean-square (rms) noise. Balanced systems achieve a dynamic range 2.5 times higher than that of a Michelson interferometer, enabling an image acquisition speed roughly 6 times faster. This maximum improvement occurs at light source powers of a few milliwatts. At light source powers higher than 30 mW, the advantage in acquisition speed of …