Systems and methods for narrowing a wavelength emission of light

• US 9,383,263 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2013
• Issued: 07/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Volcano Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Volcano Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Welford, David, Elmaanaoui, Badr
• Primary Examiner(s): Bolda, Eric
• Application Number:
  US14/108,893
• Publication Number:
  US 20140177237A1
• Time in Patent Office: 931 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0066 Optical coherence imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0073 by tomography, i.e. reconstruction of 3D images from 2D projections A61B5/0066 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 9/02091 Tomographic interferometers, e.g. based on optical coherence
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 2003/1213 Filters in general, e.g. dichroic, band
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 2009/0226 Fibres
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0245 using an optical amplifier of light, e.g. doped fiber
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/10 Arrangements of light sources specially adapted for spectrometry or colorimetry
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/12 Generating the spectrum; Monochromators
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 9/0246 Measuring optical wavelength
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/06791 Fibre ring lasers fibre laser gyrometers G01C19/72

Abstract

The present invention generally relates to methods and systems for narrowing a wavelength emission of light. In certain aspects, methods of the invention involve transmitting light through a filter and passing a portion of the filtered light through a gain chip assembly at least two times before that portion of light passes again through the filter.

Claims

1. A method of narrowing a wavelength emission of light, the method comprising:

transmitting light through a filter in a first direction;

sending the light from the filter through an optical circulator to a gain medium in a gain chip assembly a first time;

reflecting a portion of the light leaving the gain chip assembly back through the gain medium in the gain chip assembly a second time and back into the optical circulator;

sending the reflected portion of the light from the gain chip assembly back through the filter again in the first direction;

sending the reflected, filtered portion of the light through the optical circulator to the gain medium in the gain chip assembly for a third time;

directing an unreflected portion of the light leaving the gain chip assembly, after the first time and after the third time, to an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system with intravascular imaging capability, such that the OCT system receives light that has passed twice through the filter and three times through the gain chip assembly.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein reflecting is accomplished using a partial mirror.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the filter is a tunable filter.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the filter is a voltage-controlled optical attenuator.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the gain medium is a semiconductor.

6. A system for narrowing a wavelength emission of light, the system comprising:

a filter;

an optical circulator;

a gain chip assembly comprising a gain medium,

a partially reflecting mirror;

the system being configured such that light passes from the filter in a first direction, through the optical circulator, to the gain chip assembly and a portion of the light is reflected by the partial mirror back through the gain chip assembly and back through the optical circulator where the light is directed through the filter again in the first direction, through the optical circulator, and back through the gain chip assembly and to the partial mirror again such that light reflected by the partial mirror is filtered once and passes through the gain chip assembly twice each time before reaching the partial mirror again;

an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system with intravascular imaging capability wherein the OCT system is configured to receive an unreflected portion of the light that passes through the gain chip assembly.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the filter is a tunable filter.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the filter is a voltage-controlled optical attenuator.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the gain medium is a semiconductor.