KTN-based high-speed axial and lateral scanning technique for an optical coherence tomography system and application to dental imaging.

A high-speed 840 nm based polarization-sensitive time domain optical coherence tomography (PSOCT) technique is proposed and demonstrated based on the quadratic electro-optic property of potassium tantalate niobate (KTN) crystals. A longitudinal (axial) scanning depth of approximately 10 mum is obtained for an applied AC voltage of 600 V, at 1000 Hz and temperature maintained around 40 degrees C. The OCT system with the KTN-based electro-optic delay line combined with a linear actuation is extended to image an early dental demineralization. For enhanced contrast by the elimination of the strong surface reflection from the sample and high-speed imaging, the quadratic electro-optically tunable PSOCT technique is proposed and demonstrated. Further, a lateral scanning range of 490 mum is also demonstrated by controlling the KTN temperature at 35 degrees C for an applied voltage of 600 V on the tooth sample. This KTN-based quadratic electro-optic delay line combined with lateral scan approach provides an automated high-speed two-dimensional scanning of samples of interest.