US 2014/0212091 A1Published application

Optical probe

AssigneeSumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.

InventorsTakemi Hasegawa, Mitsuharu Hirano

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Abstract

Provided is an optical probe that can perform low-noise precise OCT measurement even if an object with a high scattering property is measured. The optical probe 20 includes an optical fiber 21 that transmits light between a proximal end 21a and a distal end 21b, an optical connector 22 connected with the optical fiber 21 at the proximal end 21a, a focusing optical system 23 and a deflecting optical system 24 connected with the optical fiber 21 at the distal end 11b, and a support tube 25 and a jacket tube 26 surrounding the optical fiber 21 and extending along the optical fiber 21. The optical fiber 21 includes a core region 41 having a refractive index n1, a first cladding region 42 surrounding the core region and having a refractive index n2, a trench region 43 surrounding the first cladding region and having a refractive index n3, and a second cladding region 44 surrounding the trench region and having a refractive index n4. The refractive indices have a relationship of n1>n2>n3<n4.

Claims6

Dependent claims

An optical probe, comprising:

an optical fiber that transmits light between a proximal end and a distal end, an optical fiber including a core region containing the central axis and having a refractive index n1, a first cladding region surrounding the core region and having a refractive index n2, a trench region surrounding the first cladding region and having a refractive index n3, and a second cladding region surrounding the trench region and having a refractive index n4, the refractive indices having a relationship of n1>n2>n3<n4;
an optical connector connected with the optical fiber at the proximal end;
a focusing optical system having one end connected with the optical fiber at the distal end, the focusing optical system focusing light emitted from the distal end of the optical fiber;
a deflecting optical system optically connected with the optical fiber at the distal end, the deflecting optical system deflecting the light emitted from the distal end of the optical fiber;
and
a jacket tube surrounding the optical fiber, extending along the optical fiber, and being rotatable relative to the optical fiber, the optical connector, the focusing optical system, and the deflecting optical system.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.