On-chip OCT for Ophthalmology applications

描述（由申请人提供）：Sinoora公司提出开发一种用于眼科应用的片上光谱域光学相干断层扫描（SD-OCT）系统。第一阶段将集中在单芯片上演示OCT系统的无源光学元件。无源元件包括光谱仪、耦合器和干涉仪。然后，这些片上组件将与片外宽带源和检测器阵列集成，以演示OCT功能。在第二阶段，Sinoora还将在光谱仪芯片上集成宽带源和Si探测器阵列，以实现“记忆棒”格式的完整片上SD-OCT光学引擎。所提出的光学引擎可以与OCT扫描仪头（带有光传输和收集光学器件）和处理软件集成，从而实现低成本的超紧凑型SD-OCT系统。因此，最终的OCT系统将以大大降低的成本和尺寸提供与当前庞大的OCT系统相似的性能。Sinoora将在850nm工作，使用氮化硅（SiN）材料平台制造无源元件。片上技术允许在同一SiN芯片上集成硅（Si）探测器阵列和III-V大带宽光源等有源组件。片上技术还允许使用CMOS代工厂大规模制造所提出的OCT芯片（有源和无源），这将大大降低光谱仪的成本。所提出的OCT引擎的尺寸大大减小，部分原因在于所提出的多组件集成，以及Sinoora使用其专有的基于双级微谐振器的架构来进行光谱分析。Sinoora的新型光谱仪结构允许在不影响分辨率的情况下大幅减小光谱仪的尺寸。该系统大大降低了成本、复杂性和尺寸，将使OCT技术进入验光师和普通医生的手中，以便在现场环境中快速筛查患者。因此，拟议的分光计将有助于使高质量的眼科护理负担得起，并为一般人群所接受。同样的片上OCT想法，当在这个提案中被证明时，原则上可以扩展到其他OCT应用，如皮肤病学，心脏病学和牙科。因此，Sinoora提出的低成本片上OCT系统的演示可能会在多个医疗领域产生巨大的影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Sinoora Inc. proposes to develop an on-chip spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) system for ophthalmic applications. Phase I will concentrate on demonstrating the passive optical components of the OCT system on a single chip. The passive components include a spectrometer, coupler and an interferometer. These on- chip components will then be integrated with an off-chip broadband source and detector array to demonstrate OCT functionality. In Phase II, Sinoora will also integrate the broadband source and Si detector array on the spectrometer chip to enable a complete on-chip SD-OCT optical engine in a 'memory-stick' format. The proposed optical engine can then be integrated with OCT scanner head (with light delivery and collection optics) and processing software to allow a low-cost ultra-compact SD-OCT system. The final OCT system will thus provide similar performance to current bulky OCT systems at a greatly reduced cost and size. Operating at 850 nm, Sinoora will use a silicon nitride (SiN) material platform for passive components. The on-chip technology allows integration of active components such as silicon (Si) detector array, and III-V large bandwidth light source on the same SiN chip. The on-chip technology also allows mass-manufacturability of the proposed OCT chip (both active and passives) using CMOS foundries that will greatly reduce the cost of the spectrometer. The greatly reduced size of the proposed OCT engine is due in part to the proposed multi-component integration, and Sinoora's use of it's proprietary dual-stage microresonator-based architecture to do spectroscopy. Sinoora's novel spectrometer architecture allows dramatic reduction in the size of spectrometer without compromising the resolution. The greatly reduced cost, complexity and size of the system will put the OCT technology into the hands of optometrists and general physicians for quick screening of patients in field settings. The proposed spectrometer will thus help in making quality eye care affordable and accessible to general population. The same on-chip OCT idea, when demonstrated in this proposal can, in-principle, be extended for other OCT applications such as dermatology, cardiology and dentistry. Thus, demonstration of Sinoora's proposed low-cost on-chip OCT system will likely have huge ramifications across multiple medical fields.