ABSTRACT
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging technique that uses low-coherence light interferometry to acquire high-resolution three-dimensional images of samples, in a non-destructive way and without the need for contact or means of coupling. Although the technique is well established, with commercial systems being used in a variety of applications, including but not limited to ophthalmology, dermatology, metrology, etc., intense research is still carried out in the field, from new optical setups to processing of data and applications. This chapter aims to introduce the OCT and its main aspects in a concise manner. Time and Fourier domain approaches are discussed, as well as some optical characteristics for the system design, such as lateral and axial resolution and depth of field. Aspects of data processing are also briefly discussed and functional and multimodal imaging approaches are presented. To conclude, the chapter presents some applications of OCT, mainly focused on non-biomedical areas, and highlights the topics to be covered in the following chapters.
