Abstract

The degree of polarization (uniformity) has attracted increased interest as a functional contrast in optical coherence tomography (OCT). However, its computation from a single polarization state suggests an ambiguity that is strongly dependent on a sample’s orientation. We here propose an improved metric to present depolarization with respect to the optical system rather than the propagating field. Using numerical simulations and optical frequency domain imaging, we evaluate the conventional DOP(U) for different polarization states and compare its performance with the unambiguous depolarization index.

© 2015 Optical Society of America

Enhanced depolarization contrast in polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

Noé Ortega-Quijano, Tahereh Marvdashti, and Audrey K. Ellerbee Bowden
Opt. Lett. 41(10) 2350-2353 (2016)

Investigating the depolarization property of skin tissue by degree of polarization uniformity contrast using polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

Xin Zhou, Sina Maloufi, Daniel C. Louie, Ning Zhang, Qihao Liu, Tim K. Lee, and Shuo Tang
Biomed. Opt. Express 12(8) 5073-5088 (2021)

Degree of polarization uniformity with high noise immunity using polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

Shuichi Makita, Young-Joo Hong, Masahiro Miura, and Yoshiaki Yasuno
Opt. Lett. 39(24) 6783-6786 (2014)

Polarization-insensitive optical coherence tomography based on partly depolarized light

Bernhard Baumann and Adelheid Wöhrer
Opt. Lett. 48(13) 3499-3502 (2023)

Optic axis uniformity as a metric to improve the contrast of birefringent structures and analyze the retinal nerve fiber layer in polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

Joy Willemse, Maximilian G. O. Gräfe, Jacoba A. van de Kreeke, Fabio Feroldi, Frank D. Verbraak, and Johannes F. de Boer
Opt. Lett. 44(15) 3893-3896 (2019)