Thermal-light full-field optical coherence tomography in the 1.2 μm wavelength region

Full-field optical coherence tomography with dynamic focusing correction is demonstrated in the 1.2 μm wavelength region using an Indium Gallium Arsenide area camera as image sensor and a halogen lamp as illumination source. An axial image resolution of 1.6 μm is measured in air (∼1.1 μm in tissue) which is the best resolution ever achieved in OCT in this wavelength region. En face tomographic images are produced using a phase-shifting method requiring the acquisition of only two phase-opposed interferometric images. In spite of a relatively moderate detection sensitivity of 80 dB within 1.0 s image acquisition time, ultrahigh resolution imaging in highly scattering biological tissues is possible without immersion medium.