阅读说明：本技术 光学系统及其检测方法 (Optical system and detection method thereof ) 是由 何端书 吕志伟 于 2020-05-08 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种光学成像系统,其具有将光均匀且有效地投射到样品上的光学模块。此外,本发明还提供一种方法,以消除图像伪影和改善本发明公开的光学成像系统的图像质量。(The present invention provides an optical imaging system having an optical module that projects light onto a sample uniformly and efficiently. In addition, the invention also provides a method for eliminating image artifacts and improving the image quality of the optical imaging system disclosed by the invention.)

1. An optical system, comprising:

one or more light sources configured to generate one or more light beams to travel into an optical module configured to cause the light beams to travel into an objective lens and be directed onto a sample, wherein the light beams traveling into the objective lens are configured such that the light beams are offset from an axis of a center of the objective lens; and

a detector configured to detect a signal returned from the sample.

2. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the beam of light traveling into the objective lens is symmetrically illuminated on the sample.

3. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the light beam traveling into the objective lens is configured such that an illumination field is superimposed on the sample.

4. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the beam of light traveling into the objective lens is configured such that a central ray of the beam of light is substantially parallel.

5. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the optical system comprises at least two light sources.

6. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the optical system comprises a beam splitting element comprising at least one thick glass slide, a wedge prism, a mirror, or a combination thereof.

7. The optical system of claim 6, comprising an optical fiber configured to transmit the light beam into the optical module, wherein the thick slide is configured to split the light beam output from the optical fiber into at least two light splits.

8. The optical system of claim 6, wherein the optical module comprises an achromatic lens configured to transmit the light beam from the light source, wherein at least one of a wedge prism, a mirror, or a combination thereof is configured to split the light beam transmitted from the achromatic lens into at least two split lights.

9. The optical system of claim 6, wherein a wedge angle of the wedge prism is proportional to a distance of focal points of the at least two light splits.

10. The optical system of claim 9, wherein the wedge angle ranges from 2 ° to 10 °, or from 4 ° to 7 °.

11. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the optical module comprises an adjustment device configured to adjust a distance of a focal point of the light beam traveling into the objective lens.

12. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the light source is a small etendue light source comprising an amplified spontaneous emission (ASR) light source, a superluminescent light emitting diode (SLD), a Light Emitting Diode (LED), a broadband supercontinuum light source, a mode-locked laser, a tunable laser, a Fourier domain mode-locked light source, an Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO), a halogen lamp, a crystal fiber phosphor, or a combination thereof.

13. The optical system of claim 12, wherein the crystalline fiber phosphor comprises Ce3⁺YAG crystal fiber, Ti3⁺Al2O3 crystal fiber, Cr4⁺YAG crystal fiber or a combination thereof.

14. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the optical system is an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) system, a Reflective Confocal Microscope (RCM) system, a two-photon luminescence microscope (TPL) system, or a combination thereof.

15. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the optical system is a full field of view optical system, a line field of view optical system, or a combination thereof.

16. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the optical system comprises a Mimex (Mirau) type interferometer, a Michelson type interferometer, or a horse Hertz-Zender type interferometer.

17. The optical system of claim 1, wherein the optical system comprises a Mi (Mirau) type interferometer, the Mi (Mirau) type interferometer comprising an interference device with a selective coating configured to reflect a reference arm to interfere with a sample arm backscattered from the sample, wherein the light impinging on the sample through the objective lens, off an axis from a center of the objective lens, is not blocked by the selective coating disposed on the interference device.

18. A method of detecting an optical signal, comprising:

providing one or more light beams by one or more light sources;

causing the beam to travel into an objective lens via an optical module and be directed onto a sample, wherein the beam traveling into the objective lens is configured such that the beam is off-axis from a center of the objective lens; and detecting a signal returned from the sample.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the beam of light traveling into the objective lens is symmetrically illuminated on the sample.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the light beam traveling into the objective lens is configured such that an illumination field overlaps on the sample.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the beam of light traveling into the objective lens is configured such that a central ray of the beam of light is substantially parallel.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the optical system comprises at least two light sources.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the optical module comprises a light splitting element comprising at least one thick glass slide, a wedge prism, a mirror, or a combination thereof.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein an optical fiber is configured to transmit the light beam into the optical module, wherein the thick slide is configured to split the light beam output from the optical fiber into at least two light splits.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein an achromatic lens is configured to transmit the light beam from the light source, wherein at least one of a wedge prism, a mirror, or a combination thereof is configured to split the light beam transmitted from the achromatic lens into at least two split lights.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein a wedge angle of the wedge prism is proportional to a distance of focal points of the at least two light splits.

27. The method of claim 22, wherein the wedge angle ranges from 2 ° to 10 °, or from 4 ° to 7 °.

28. The method of claim 18, comprising adjusting, via an adjustment device, a distance of a focal point of the light beam traveling into the objective lens.

29. The method of claim 18, wherein the light source is a small etendue light source comprising an amplified spontaneous emission (ASR) light source, a superluminescent light emitting diode (SLD), a Light Emitting Diode (LED), a broadband supercontinuum light source, a mode-locked laser, a tunable laser, a Fourier domain mode-locked light source, an Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO), a halogen lamp, a crystal fiber optic phosphor, or a combination thereof.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the crystalline fiber phosphor comprises Ce3⁺YAG crystal fiber, Ti3⁺Al2O3 crystal fiber, Cr4⁺YAG crystal fiber or a combination thereof.

31. The method of claim 18, wherein the optical system is an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) system, a Reflective Confocal Microscope (RCM) system, a two-photon luminescence microscope (TPL) system, or a combination thereof.

32. The method of claim 18, wherein the optical system is a full field of view optical system, a line field of view optical system, or a combination thereof.

33. The method of claim 18, wherein the optical system comprises a Mimex (Mirau) type interferometer, a Michelson type interferometer, or a horse Hertz-Zender type interferometer.

34. The detection method of claim 18, wherein the optical system comprises a meter (Mirau) type interferometer and at least two beams of light traveling to the objective lens onto the sample, the meter (Mirau) type interferometer comprising an interference device having a selective coating that reflects a reference arm to interfere with a sample arm backscattered from the sample, wherein the light impinging on the sample through the objective lens off an axis that is offset from a center of the objective lens is not blocked by the selective coating disposed on the interference device.

Background

The imaging optical system is a system that can be used for imaging, and generally includes a lens, a mirror, and a prism that constitute optical components of the optical apparatus. Imaging optical systems such as Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), Reflective Confocal Microscope (RCM), two-photon emission microscope (TPL), etc. have been widely used in various applications such as skin imaging. For example, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is an image interference technique that has been widely used for imaging reconstruction of tissue. This interferometric imaging technique allows high resolution cross-sectional imaging of biological samples. For imaging interferometry, broadband illumination will contribute to axial resolution and can produce high resolution cross-sectional/volumetric imaging.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides an optical imaging system having an optical module that projects light onto a sample uniformly and efficiently. In addition, the invention also provides a method for eliminating image artifacts and improving the image quality of the optical imaging system disclosed by the invention.

In an aspect, there is provided an optical system comprising one or more light sources configured to generate one or more light beams to travel into an optical module configured to cause the light beams to travel into an objective lens and be directed onto a sample, wherein the light beams traveling into the objective lens are configured such that the light beams are offset from an axis of a center of the objective lens; and a detector configured to detect a signal returned from the sample.

In another aspect, a method of detecting an optical signal is provided, the method comprising providing one or more light beams by one or more light sources; causing the beam to travel into an objective lens via an optical module and be directed onto a sample, wherein the beam traveling into the objective lens is configured such that the beam is off-axis from a center of the objective lens; and detecting a signal returned from the sample.

Is incorporated by reference

All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

Drawings

A better understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description that sets forth illustrative embodiments, in which the principles of the invention are utilized, and the accompanying drawings of which:

fig. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the optical system of the present invention.

Fig. 2 illustrates an embodiment of an illumination module of the optical system of the present invention.

Fig. 3 illustrates an embodiment of an illumination module of the optical system of the present invention.

Fig. 4 illustrates an embodiment of an illumination module of the optical system of the present invention.

Fig. 5 illustrates an embodiment of an illumination module of the optical system of the present invention.

Fig. 6 illustrates an embodiment of an illumination module having an adjustment means to change the position of the focal point in the optical system of the present invention.

Fig. 7 illustrates an embodiment of the optical system of the present invention.

Fig. 8 illustrates an embodiment of the illumination module of the present invention comprising a field lens of the type Mirau (Mirau).

Fig. 9A/9B show images from a conventional asymmetric illumination module (9A) compared to the image of a symmetric illumination module (9B) of the present invention.

FIG. 10 provides an exemplary image utilizing the optical system of the present invention.

Detailed Description

It is known in the art that the scanning speed and signal-to-noise ratio of an imaging interferometric system can be improved by concentrating light into a small area via a broadband light source with a small etendue. However, small etendue light sources suffer from low light utilization in optical systems such as the meter (Mirau) interferometer, where center shadowing results in significant image artifacts and reduced image quality. Due to etendue conservation, the range of incident angles for full field illumination is proportional to the etendue of the light source. Since backscattering of a sample is usually angle dependent, some information may be lost if the range of angles of incidence is narrow. In addition, imaging artifacts along the illumination direction can degrade image quality. Therefore, there is a need to improve the image quality of such optical imaging systems.

An optical system and method of detection thereof is provided herein that includes an optical module with an exemplary illumination model to effectively reduce image artifacts and improve image quality (such as resolution and image contrast). In particular, the present invention provides an optical system and a method of detecting an optical signal thereof, which is applicable to an optical system including a broadband light source having a small etendue.

To minimize image artifacts, the illumination light may be multi-beam (e.g., via splitting the illumination light into multiple beams), with different illumination beams impinging the sample at different angles. In particular, in some embodiments, the illumination fields generated by beams of different angles of incidence substantially overlap on the sample. Since the intensity distributions of the illumination fields may be different, the combined illumination fields exhibit better illumination uniformity. In some embodiments, the beams are generated by different light sources. This illumination strategy can be considered as an almost lossless spatial beam combining method.

The present invention provides an embodiment as illustrated in fig. 1. An exemplary optical system includes an illumination module and an imaging module. The illumination module comprises one or more light sources 11 configured to generate one or more light beams that travel into the optical module 2, wherein the optical module 2 is configured to cause the light beams to travel into the objective lens 31 and be directed onto the sample 4, wherein the light beams traveling into the objective lens are configured such that the light beams are offset from the axis of the center of the objective lens. The imaging module of the exemplary optical system includes a detector 53, the detector 53 configured to detect a signal from the sample 4, where the light is backscattered from the sample 4, travels through the beam splitter 51 and projection lens 52, and is finally detected by the detector/camera 53. In some embodiments, the detector is an optional one-dimensional detector, or a two-dimensional detector, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the detector is a two-dimensional detector. In some embodiments, the two-dimensional detector is a charge-coupled device (CCD), a multi-pixel camera, or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) camera, or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the beam of light traveling into the objective lens is symmetrically illuminated on the sample. Furthermore, the light beam travelling into the objective lens is configured such that the illumination field overlaps, preferably substantially overlaps, the sample. The beam of light traveling into the objective lens is configured such that the central rays of the light are substantially parallel. The central ray refers to the central light of the beam. The definition of "substantially parallel" refers to substantially parallel allowing a degree of offset, such as 0 to 20 degrees of offset, 0 to 15 degrees of offset, 0 to 10 degrees of offset, 0 to 5 degrees of offset, or 0 to 3 degrees of offset. In certain embodiments, the offset in the term "substantially parallel" is within allowable experimental error.

The term "substantially overlap" refers to a range of illumination fields that overlap by 40-100%, 60-100%, 80-100%, or 90-100% within the allowable error of experiments known in the art. When the beam of light traveling into the objective lens satisfies the above conditions, the beam of light will produce off-axis symmetric illumination and be uniformly illuminated on the sample 4. Image artifacts (e.g., linear artifacts) will be significantly reduced (fig. 9B) due to symmetric illumination compared to conventional asymmetric illumination optics (fig. 9A). In some embodiments, resolution and image contrast will also be improved via the present optical system/method.

In some embodiments, to achieve the symmetric illumination described above, the optical module may further include a light splitting element comprising at least one thick glass slide, wedge prism, mirror, or a combination thereof to split the light beam into two or more lights. However, it is not limited thereto.

In fig. 1, a wedge prism 22 is selected as an example of the light splitting element. The light beam passes through an optical fiber 12 and then is transmitted into an optical module 2, the optical module 2 including an achromatic lens 21 and a wedge prism 22. To split the light beam from the optical fiber 12, the achromatic lens 21 is rotated by a certain angle, wherein the wedge prism 22 is partially disposed on the illumination area outputted from the achromatic lens 21. The two partial beams are projected on two focal points 6 focused on the focal plane 32 of the objective 31. In some embodiments, the focal points 6 do not overlap with each other.

The wedge prism 22 functions to provide an offset angle for light such as one of the split lights. The wedge prism 22 has a wedge angle which is proportional to the focal point 6 of the two light components. In some embodiments, the wedge angle ranges from 2 ° to 10 °. In certain embodiments, the wedge angle ranges from 3 ° to 9 °, 4 ° to 8 °' or 4 ° to 7 °. However, it is not limited thereto. The wedge angle depends on the desired distance of the focal points of the two light splits.

In some embodiments, an illumination module of the optical system of the present invention is provided without an imaging module, as illustrated in fig. 2. In contrast to fig. 1, the wedge prism is replaced by two mirrors 23. Each of the mirrors 23 reflects part of the light beam from the achromatic lens 21 to realize light splitting having a characteristic that substantially parallel central rays and/or illumination fields overlap on the sample, thereby symmetrically illuminating the sample.

To achieve light shifting and splitting, in some embodiments, the optical system includes at least one thick glass slide disposed between the optical fiber and the optical module to split the light beam from the optical fiber into at least two lights (not shown). This embodiment also splits the light beam into at least two lights that are symmetrically illuminated on the sample.

In some embodiments, the illumination field may be generated directly by a different light source or an auxiliary light source. As illustrated in fig. 3, which shows an illumination module of an exemplary optical system, the illumination module comprises two light sources 11 generating two beams of light entering the optical module 2 via optical fibers 12. In a further exemplary embodiment, fig. 4 provides an illumination module with two light sources 11 and a mirror 23 to tilt the light path to achieve the same effect as shown in fig. 3 or other embodiments.

In some embodiments, a lighting module is provided as illustrated that includes two light sources and an optical module. As illustrated in fig. 5, the exemplary illumination module includes two light sources 11 that irradiate two beams of light into the optical module 2. Thus, as illustrated in fig. 3 to 5 described above, the method of splitting light is realized by various arrangements of two light sources. Other suitable arrangements/methods will be readily recognized by those skilled in the art in view of the practice of the present invention.

For some embodiments, to further increase the degree of freedom of angular displacement of the light beam travelling into the objective lens, the illumination module further comprises at least one adjustment device 24 to adjust the distance of at least two focal points 6 on the focal plane 32 of the objective lens 31, as illustrated in fig. 6. In some embodiments, the adjustment device 24 is disposed beside the light splitting element. In certain embodiments, the adjustment device 24 comprises at least one wedge. However, the original and the arrangement thereof are not limited thereto. Any optical component having an angle changing function can be easily regarded as the adjusting means.

FIG. 7 provides another embodiment of the optical system of the present invention, including a light source 11 that generates a light beam that travels into the optical module 2; an optical module 2 configured to cause the beam to travel into the objective lens 31 and be directed onto the sample 4, wherein the beam traveling into the objective lens 31 is configured such that the beam is off-axis from the center of the objective lens 31. Light backscattered from the sample 4 will travel through the beam splitter 51 and be projected by the projection lens 52 onto the detector 53. The optical module includes an achromatic lens 21 to receive light from the light source 11 via the optical fiber 12; the spherical lens 25 is configured to process the light from the achromatic lens 21 and provide area field light that impinges on the sample. Alternatively, the cylindrical lens 26 may be switched to provide line-of-field light impinging on the sample; the wedge prism 22 is configured to divide the light into two lights; and the quarter wave plate 27 is configured to change the polarization of the light. Since the spherical lens 25 and the cylindrical lens 26 are switchable, the optical system may be a full-field optical system, a line-field optical system, or a combination thereof.

The Mirau model (Mirau) interferometer employs a smaller number of optical elements, occupies less space, and is less sensitive to environmental vibrations than other interferometric equipment. One major drawback of the meter (Mirau) interferometry is the center obscuration caused by the reference mirror. For in vivo applications, the reference mirror is typically highly reflective in order to maximize collection efficiency and signal-to-noise ratio. If the etendue of the light source is small, the central shading may block a large portion of the illumination light.

In some embodiments, the optical system of the invention further comprises an objective (interferometer) of the Mirau (Mirau) type, as illustrated in FIG. 7, which comprises an objective 31 and an interference device 33 with a selective coating 34, the interference device 33 reflecting the reference light arm to interfere with the sample arm backscattered from the sample 4. By adjusting the distance of the two focal points 6, the two light components traveling into the objective 31 to the sample 4 may not be blocked by the selective coating 34. In some embodiments, the optical system comprises a Mimex (Mirau) type objective lens, a Michelson type objective lens, or a horse Hertz-Zender type objective lens.

In some embodiments, the optical system of the present invention is an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) system, a Reflective Confocal Microscope (RCM) system, a two-photon luminescence microscope (TPL) system, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the optical system includes, but is not limited to, a Mirau (Mirau) type interferometer, a Michelson type interferometer, or a horse Hertz-Zender Long oil (Mach-Zender) type interferometer. Preferably, the optical system comprises a Mirau model (Mirau) interferometer.

In some embodiments, the light source is a broadband light source of low etendue. In certain embodiments, the light source is an amplified spontaneous emission (ASR) light source, a superluminescent light emitting diode (SLD), a Light Emitting Diode (LED), a broadband supercontinuum light source, a mode-locked laser, a tunable laser, a Fourier domain mode-locked light source, an Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO), a halogen lamp, a crystal fiber phosphor, or combinations thereof, or the like. In certain embodiments, the crystalline fiber phosphor comprises Ce3⁺YAG crystal fiber, Ti3⁺Al2O3 crystal fiber, Cr4⁺YAG crystal fiber or a combination thereof, however, not limited thereto.

As illustrated in fig. 8, which provides a type of objective lens of the meter (Mirau) in fig. 7, off-axis symmetric light impinging on the sample 4 through the objective lens 31 is preferably not blocked by the selective coating 34 provided on the interference device 33. Such a design improves the efficient use of light, allowing the light to be fully illuminated on the sample, which improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the resulting image, thereby improving image quality.

The present invention provides another exemplary detection method for an optical system, such as the optical system described above. The method includes providing one or more light beams by one or more light sources; causing the beam to travel into an objective lens via an optical module and be directed onto a sample, wherein the beam traveling into the objective lens is configured such that the beam is offset from an axis of a center of the objective lens; and detecting a signal returned from the sample.

The present optical system/method provides an illumination module/method to split a light beam into at least two lights and project onto a sample, wherein the two off-axis symmetric lights have substantially parallel central rays and/or overlapping illumination fields. The preferred symmetrical illumination module (or off-axis symmetrical illumination module) based on the present optical system will reduce image artifacts and will effectively improve image quality. The reason is that the illumination provided by the asymmetric illumination module to the sample is a specific or uni-directional illumination, whereas the illumination provided by the symmetric illumination module to the sample is a multi-directional illumination, allowing for reduced image artifacts to be generated, thereby improving resolution and image contrast. Fig. 9A illustrates an image from a conventional asymmetric illumination module compared to the pattern of the inventive symmetric illumination module shown in fig. 9B. Further, FIG. 10 provides an exemplary optical image of the optical system of the present invention having two mirrors as in FIG. 2. With the optical images shown in fig. 9 and 10, the exemplary optical system of the present invention effectively reduces the image artifacts and line patterns of the optical images. In addition, compared with the traditional optical system with the asymmetrical illumination module, the image quality and the signal-to-noise ratio are also obviously improved.

In some embodiments, there is also provided an optical system comprising one or more light sources configured to generate one or more light beams to travel into an optical module configured to cause the light beams to travel into an objective lens and be directed onto a sample, wherein the light beams traveling into the objective lens are configured such that the light beams are offset from an axis of a center of the objective lens; and a detector configured to detect a signal returned from the sample. In some embodiments, the beam of light traveling into the objective lens is symmetrically impinged on the sample. In some embodiments, the light beam traveling into the objective lens is configured such that the illumination field overlaps the sample. In some embodiments, the beam entering the objective lens is configured such that the central rays of light are substantially parallel. In some embodiments, the optical system comprises at least two light sources. In some embodiments, the optical system includes a light splitting element comprising at least one thick glass slide, a wedge prism, a mirror, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the optical system includes an optical fiber configured to transmit the light beam into the optical module, wherein the thick glass is configured to split the light beam output from the optical fiber into at least two lights. In some embodiments, the optical module includes an achromatic lens configured to transmit a light beam from the light source, wherein at least one of a wedge prism, a mirror, or a combination thereof is configured to split the light beam transmitted from the achromatic lens into at least two lights. In some embodiments, the wedge angle of the wedge prism is proportional to the distance of the at least two focal points of light. In certain embodiments, the wedge angle ranges from 2 ° to 10 °, or from 4 ° to 7 °. In some embodiments, the optical module comprises an adjustment device configured to adjust a distance of a focal point of the light beam travelling into the objective lens.

In some embodiments, the light source is a small etendue light source comprising an amplified spontaneous emission (ASR) light source, a superluminescent light emitting diode (SLD), a Light Emitting Diode (LED), a broadband supercontinuum light source, a mode-locked laser, a tunable laser, a Fourier domain mode-locked light source, an Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO), a halogen lamp, a crystal fiber phosphor, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the crystalline fiber phosphor comprises Ce3+: YAG crystalline fiber, Ti3+: Al2O3 crystalline fiber, Cr4+: YAG crystalline fiber, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the optical system is an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) system, a Reflective Confocal Microscope (RCM) system, a two-photon luminescence microscope (TPL) system, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the optical system is a full field of view optical system, a line field of view optical system, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the optical system comprises a Mimex (Mirau) type interferometer, a Michelson type interferometer, or a horse Hz-Zender Long oil (Mach-Zender) type interferometer. In certain embodiments, the optical system includes a meter (Mirau) type interferometer and at least two beams of light traveling to the objective lens onto the sample, the meter (Mirau) type interferometer including an interference device having a selective coating, the interference device configured to reflect a reference arm that interferes with a sample arm backscattered from the sample, wherein light impinging on the sample through the objective lens, off an axis centered on the objective lens, is not obscured by the selective coating disposed on the interference device. In some embodiments, the wedge angle of the wedge prism is proportional to the distance of the focal points of the at least two light splits. In certain embodiments, the wedge angle ranges from 2 ° to 10 °, or from 4 ° to 7 °. In some embodiments, the optical module comprises an adjustment device configured to adjust a distance of a focal point of the light beam travelling into the objective lens. In some embodiments, the light source is a small etendue light source comprising an amplified spontaneous emission (ASR) light source, a superluminescent light emitting diode (SLD), a Light Emitting Diode (LED), a broadband supercontinuum light source, a mode-locked laser, a tunable laser, a Fourier domain mode-locked light source, an Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO), a halogen lamp, a crystal fiber phosphor, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the crystalline fiber phosphor comprises Ce3+: YAG crystalline fiber, Ti3+: Al2O3 crystalline fiber, Cr4+: YAG crystalline fiber, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the optical system is an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) system, a Reflective Confocal Microscope (RCM) system, a two-photon luminescence microscope (TPL) system, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the optical system is a full field of view optical system, a line field of view optical system, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the optical system comprises a Mimex (Mirau) type interferometer, a Michelson type interferometer, or a horse Hz-Zender Long oil (Mach-Zender) type interferometer. In certain embodiments, the optical system includes a meter (Mirau) type interferometer and at least two beams that travel to the objective lens onto the sample, the meter (Mirau) type interferometer including an interference device having a selective coating that reflects the reference arm to interfere with the sample arm backscattered from the sample, wherein light impinging on the sample through the objective lens off an axis that is offset from a center of the objective lens is not obscured by the selective coating disposed on the interference device.

In some embodiments, a method of detecting an optical signal is provided, comprising providing one or more light beams by one or more light sources; causing the beam to travel into an objective lens via an optical module and be directed onto a sample, wherein the beam traveling into the objective lens is configured such that the beam is offset from an axis of a center of the objective lens; and detecting a signal returned from the sample. In some embodiments, the beam of light traveling into the objective lens is symmetrically impinged on the sample. In some embodiments, the light beam traveling into the objective lens is configured such that the illumination field overlaps the sample. In some embodiments, the beam of light traveling into the objective lens is configured such that the central rays of light are substantially parallel. In some embodiments, the optical system comprises at least two light sources. In some embodiments, the optical system includes a light splitting element comprising at least one thick glass slide, a wedge prism, a mirror, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the optical fiber is configured to transmit the light beam into the optical module, wherein the thick glass is configured to split the light beam output from the optical fiber into at least two light components.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerous variations, modifications, and substitutions will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the invention herein. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed in practicing the invention. It is intended that the following claims define the scope of the invention and that methods and structures within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby.