Tomographic imaging techniques using broadband polarized light for tissue diagnostics

This dissertation presents a fiber based single channel polarization sensitive spectral interferometry system which provides depth-resolved measurement of polarization transformations of backscattered light from a sample. The instrument employs a fiber optic spectral polarimetry instrument(FOSPI) as readout of a common-path spectral interferometer with a broadband frequency swept laser source. The FOSPI is a PM fiber based instrument to measure the polarization state of collected light and incorporation of the FOSPI into a common-path spectral interferometer allows measurement of the full set of Stokes parameters of interfering light with a single optical frequency scan. The high spectral resolution of the broadband frequency swept laser source utilized in this study enables encoding and decoding both the polarization and depth information into separate channels in the time delay domain. The methodology requires neither polarization controlling components nor prior knowledge of the polarization state of light incident on the sample. Performance of the fiber based single channel polarization sensitive spectral interferometer has been demonstrated by measuring phase retardation and fast axis angle of a birefringent mica plate.