Time-encoded Near-infrared (NIR) Spectroscopic Comparison of Absorbance Measurement Using an Acousto-optic NIR Swept Laser Source

Abstract

Time-encoded near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) system is proposed, based on a near-infrared (NIR) swept laser source, for comparison to the conventional NIRS method using a detector-type spectrometer. The cavity of the NIR swept laser source consists of a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) with a gain region around 800 nm, and several fiber-optic components. To change the output wavelength in time using an applied electric radio-frequency signal, an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) is introduced in the fiber ring cavity configuration. To demonstrate the feasibility of an NIR swept laser source for NIRS imaging, the spectroscopic comparison of two kinds of absorbance-measuring systems a detector-type spectrometer using a white light source, and a source-type spectrometer using an NIR swept laser is successfully performed with an NIR-absorbing dye.