A new spectral calibration method for Fourier domain optical coherence tomography

Spectral calibration is important for a Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) system. A new spectral calibration method for FD-OCT is presented. Through the iterated mapping of spectral interferograms detected by an optical spectrum analyzer and the CCD grating spectrometer, multiple groups of calibration coefficients are obtained. By comparing the effects of these coefficients on improving the amplitude of the axial point spread function (PSF), optimum coefficients are obtained. In this method, no additional calibration laser source is needed, reducing the complexity of the system. The cross-sectional images of a glass plate in milk are acquired, and the experimental results indicate that the axial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are effectively improved with the proposed spectral calibration method.