Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 49 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Light: Advanced Manufacturing |
| Early online date | 29 Aug 2024 |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 29 Aug 2024 |
Abstract
Fiber-based endoscopes are promising for minimally invasive in vivo biomedical diagnostics. Multicore fibers offer high resolution imaging. However, to avoid image deterioration induced by inter-core coupling, significant spacing between cores is required, which limits the active image guiding area of the fiber. Thus, they suffer from low light collection efficiency and decreased signal-to-noise ratio. In this paper, we present a method to increase the collection efficiency by thermally expanding the cores at the facet of a multicore fiber. This expansion is based on the diffusion of doping material of the cores, thus the fiber's original outer diameter is preserved. By enlarging the core diameter by a factor of 2.8, we increase the intensity of the transmitted light by a factor of up to 2.3. This results in a signal-to-noise ratio increase by a factor of up to 4.6 and significant improvement in the image contrast. The improvement increases with increasing working distance but is already prominent for as small working distance as 0.5 mm. The feasibility of the method is proved experimentally by lensless single-shot imaging of a test chart and incoherent light reflected from clusters of microbeads. The demonstrated approach is an important tool especially in imaging of biological specimens, for which phototoxicity must be avoided, and therefore, high collection efficiency is required.
Keywords
- lensless imaging, multicore fiber, thermally expanded cores fiber
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Engineering(all)
- Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
- Materials Science(all)
- Materials Science (miscellaneous)
- Materials Science(all)
- Metals and Alloys
- Physics and Astronomy(all)
- Instrumentation
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In: Light: Advanced Manufacturing, 29.08.2024.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Multicore fiber with thermally expanded cores for increased collection efficiency in endoscopic imaging
AU - Zolnacz, Kinga
AU - Stephan, Ronja
AU - Dremel, Jakob
AU - Hausmann, Katharina
AU - Ließmann, Matthias
AU - Steinke, Michael
AU - Czarske, Juergen
AU - Kuschmierz, Robert
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/8/29
Y1 - 2024/8/29
N2 - Fiber-based endoscopes are promising for minimally invasive in vivo biomedical diagnostics. Multicore fibers offer high resolution imaging. However, to avoid image deterioration induced by inter-core coupling, significant spacing between cores is required, which limits the active image guiding area of the fiber. Thus, they suffer from low light collection efficiency and decreased signal-to-noise ratio. In this paper, we present a method to increase the collection efficiency by thermally expanding the cores at the facet of a multicore fiber. This expansion is based on the diffusion of doping material of the cores, thus the fiber's original outer diameter is preserved. By enlarging the core diameter by a factor of 2.8, we increase the intensity of the transmitted light by a factor of up to 2.3. This results in a signal-to-noise ratio increase by a factor of up to 4.6 and significant improvement in the image contrast. The improvement increases with increasing working distance but is already prominent for as small working distance as 0.5 mm. The feasibility of the method is proved experimentally by lensless single-shot imaging of a test chart and incoherent light reflected from clusters of microbeads. The demonstrated approach is an important tool especially in imaging of biological specimens, for which phototoxicity must be avoided, and therefore, high collection efficiency is required.
AB - Fiber-based endoscopes are promising for minimally invasive in vivo biomedical diagnostics. Multicore fibers offer high resolution imaging. However, to avoid image deterioration induced by inter-core coupling, significant spacing between cores is required, which limits the active image guiding area of the fiber. Thus, they suffer from low light collection efficiency and decreased signal-to-noise ratio. In this paper, we present a method to increase the collection efficiency by thermally expanding the cores at the facet of a multicore fiber. This expansion is based on the diffusion of doping material of the cores, thus the fiber's original outer diameter is preserved. By enlarging the core diameter by a factor of 2.8, we increase the intensity of the transmitted light by a factor of up to 2.3. This results in a signal-to-noise ratio increase by a factor of up to 4.6 and significant improvement in the image contrast. The improvement increases with increasing working distance but is already prominent for as small working distance as 0.5 mm. The feasibility of the method is proved experimentally by lensless single-shot imaging of a test chart and incoherent light reflected from clusters of microbeads. The demonstrated approach is an important tool especially in imaging of biological specimens, for which phototoxicity must be avoided, and therefore, high collection efficiency is required.
KW - lensless imaging
KW - multicore fiber
KW - thermally expanded cores fiber
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85205420650&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.37188/lam.2024.049
DO - 10.37188/lam.2024.049
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85205420650
JO - Light: Advanced Manufacturing
JF - Light: Advanced Manufacturing
SN - 2689-9620
M1 - 49
ER -