Swept-Source Laser Based on Quantum-Dot Semiconductor Optical Amplifier—Applications in Optical Coherence Tomography

We present a swept-source laser based on a quantum-dot semiconductor optical amplifier (QD SOA) (designed and manufactured by Innolume Gmbh, Germany) as the gain medium. The properties of the laser are as follows: center wavelength is 1220 nm, sweep range is 94 nm (up to 120 nm in manual mode), the peak laser power is 16 mW, and the sweep speed is 100 Hz. We apply the laser in an optical coherence tomography (OCT) configuration and present images of in vivo skin. QD SOA are well suited to OCT and we show the setup can be improved for power, sweep range, and sweep speed.