Wasatch Photonics has expanded its Cobra OCT spectrometer product line with an innovative design capable of achieving significantly greater imaging depth than other 800 nm OCT spectrometers. The Cobra-D is a compact, ultrahigh dispersion spectrometer optimized for 800 nm spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) imaging at high speed, and is based on a configurable optomechanical bench engineered for volume manufacturing. It builds on the company’s existing line of Cobra OCT spectrometers for 500-1600 nm OCT imaging, expanding their application in industrial and medical systems.
Image Credit: Wasatch Photonics
OCT imaging has traditionally required the use of longer wavelengths to probe depths greater than a few millimeters in a single scan, bringing with it the higher cost associated with InGaAs detectors. The Cobra-D’s novel and proprietary ultrahigh-resolution design, in contrast, allows imaging depths of >14 mm to be achieved using 800 nm OCT, which opens up new possibilities for cost-effective measurement of detailed materials features over a wider range of depths. This is particularly relevant for applications in ophthalmology, medicine, and for nondestructive process monitoring of additive printing and laser machining.
The Cobra-D OCT spectrometer is offered in five bandwidths centered at 840 nm spanning 0.01-0.04 nm spectral resolution, which corresponds to 4-14 mm imaging depth. Weighing <6 kg, the spectrometer can be read at speeds up to 250 kHz using Wasatch Photonics’ rapid access software development kits for C++, C#, LabView, and MatLab. The Cobra-D uses a high efficiency optical design optimized for high sensitivity and low roll-off, leveraging Wasatch Photonics’s patented volume phase holographic (VPH) grating technology and vertically integrated manufacturing. It is designed with industrial-grade mechanical and thermal stability for volume production. It offers industrial and medical system developers an opportunity to accelerate their product design and launch by working with an experienced OEM engine provider, reducing risk and development cost and speeding ramp to volume production.
“Our expansion of the Cobra OCT spectrometer line with these new Cobra-D models is in direct response to a market need for cost-effective, high resolution 800 nm imaging in real time. Real-time visual 3D process monitoring has become essential in the industrial sector,” says Dr. David Creasey, CEO. “At Wasatch Photonics, we seek to accelerate the development and deployment of OCT technology in new fields, so that our customers may harness the valuable information it offers.”