Bi-refringence compensated waveguides

A catheter comprising:

• a proximal section,
• a distal section,
• a sheath coupled between the proximal section and the distal section, and
• an optical fiber provided in a substrate and disposed within the sheath, wherein the optical fiber comprises a first segment and a second segment, wherein the second segment of the optical fiber is rotated about an optical axis relative to the first segment of the optical fiber, wherein the optical fiber is configured to receive a beam of radiation generated by an optical source and propagate the beam of radiation through the optical fiber and out the distal section, wherein the first segment of the optical fiber is configured to impart a first differential group delay on the beam of radiation, the second segment of the optical fiber is configured to impart a second differential group delay on the beam of radiation, and a sum of the first differential group delay and the second differential group delay is substantially zero.

A device comprising:

• an optical source configured to generate a beam of radiation;
• and
• a catheter comprising:
• a proximal section,
• a distal section,
• a sheath coupled between the proximal section and the distal section;
• and
• at least one optical fiber provided in a substrate and disposed within the sheath and coupled to the optical source, wherein the at least one optical fiber comprises a first segment and a second segment, wherein the second segment of the at least one optical fiber is rotated about an optical axis relative to the first segment, wherein the beam of radiation is propagated through the at least one optical fiber and out the distal section, wherein the first segment of the at least one optical fiber is configured to impart a first differential group delay on the beam of radiation, the second segment of the at least one optical fiber is configured to impart a second differential group delay on the beam of radiation, and a sum of the first differential group delay and the second differential group delay is substantially zero.