Synchronous self-elimination of autocorrelation interference in Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography.

We have developed a new algorithm and configuration for self-eliminating the autocorrelation of the object wave in Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography. A self-interferogram of the object wave is acquired synchronously with the standard interferogram of the recombined object and reference waves. The former is then subtracted from the latter after Fourier transformation. The algorithm is validated by numerical simulation and by experimental measurement of a U.S. Air Force target and a feline eye.