Fast parallel optical coherence tomographic image generating apparatus and method

A fast parallel optical coherence tomographic image generating method comprising:

• dispersing light into N spectral regions Δλ1 through ΔλN sequentially from a low frequency wavelength to a high frequency wavelength, the light being emitted from a broadband light source of a fast parallel optical coherence tomographic image generating apparatus, N being an integer greater than or equal to 2;
• splitting the light emitted from the broadband light source to be incident on a sample and a reference mirror;
• partitioning the sample into N image regions P1 through PN;
• discretely controlling a beam scanner such that the light emitted from the broadband light source is incident on the sample at a position changed by a preset distance;
• acquiring an interference spectral image through interference light formed in response to interference of measurement light and reference light, the measurement light being light corresponding to at least two of the N spectral regions and being reflected from the sample and the reference light being light corresponding to the at least two spectral regions and being reflected from the reference mirror;
• and
• generating a tomographic image of the sample using the interference spectral image,
• wherein the N spectral regions are incident on the sample at the same spectral distance which is a physical width, and a distance between the N image regions of the sample is equal to the spectral distance,
• wherein the preset distance is expressed by a product of the spectral distance and a number of image regions to be skipped by an end portion of the light radiated on the sample for each step among the N image regions,
• wherein in the discretely controlling, an overall distance the light is to be moved by the beam scanner along a single line is calculated according to:
• D=2(N×x)−2(n×w), and
• wherein, D is the overall distance, N is a number of the image regions, n is the number of image regions to be skipped by the end portion of the light radiated on the sample for each step, and w is the spectral distance.