Manufacturable and reliable electrically pumped micro-electromechanically tunable vertical cavity surface emitting lasers for low-cost ophthalmic swept source optical coherence tomography

这一努力的最终目标是将先进的眼科扫频光源光学相干 将SS-OCT成像应用于低成本的广泛可访问的环境。SS-OCT是一种功能强大的 非侵入性诊断成像模式，以及在早期检测和 用于多种视网膜疾病的监测，以及前眼和全眼成像。一个关键 这些系统的高成本的驱动因素是波长扫描激光器的成本和复杂性 源，它是SS-OCT系统中技术最先进的组件。大多数商业 波长扫频光源是由分离的光学部件离散地组装而成的， 精确的亚微米对准。然而，在过去的3年里，部分资金来自NEI赠款 R44EY022864，Praevium Research开发了单片芯片级波长扫描激光器 基于电泵浦微机电系统的垂直腔面发射光源 激光器（MEMS-VCSEL）。这些设备可以在一个晶圆上大量制造和测试 规模，创造了每个设备几美元的制造成本的可能性。此外，记录 MEMS-VCSEL的成像范围和高且灵活的成像速度使得能够进行视网膜成像， 用于眼睛生物测定的前眼成像和全眼成像 这是第一次用乐器。快速的调谐速度与先进的图像 处理，以实现无染料OCT血管造影术（OCTA），其能够早期成像关键 与湿性和干性AMD和DR相关的标志物。这种新的OCTA技术的应用 继续出现。 可制造性和可靠性挑战仍然是批量商业化的重大障碍 MEMS-eVCSEL这些挑战构成了技术之间的经典"死亡之谷" 演示和商业产品。SSOCT成像对MEMS提出了严格的要求- eVCSEL调谐范围、调谐速度、偏振和光谱纯度，这在欧洲是没有先例的。 其他半导体激光器应用。此外，这些关键参数必须通过 足够的产量，以满足大批量低成本应用所需的积极的价格目标，以及 可以维持数千小时的寿命。因此，这项工作旨在解决和 克服了与MEMS-eVCSEL相关的可制造性和可靠性挑战，并奠定了 为这些设备的大批量商业化奠定了基础。

The ultimate goal of this effort is to bring advanced ophthalmic swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) imaging to low cost broadly accessible environments. SS-OCT is a powerful non-invasive diagnostic imaging modality, and an increasingly valuable tool in the early detection and monitoring of a number of retinal diseases, as well as in anterior eye and whole eye imaging. A key driver of high cost of for these systems has been the cost and complexity of the wavelength swept laser source, which is the most technologically advanced component of SS-OCT system. Most commercial wavelength-swept sources are assembled discretely from separate optical components requiring precision sub-micron alignments. Over the last 3 years, however, funded in part by NEI grant R44EY022864, Praevium Research has developed a monolithic chip-scale wavelength-swept laser source based on electrically pumped micro-electromechanical systems vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (MEMS-VCSELs). These devices can be fabricated and tested in lots of thousands on a wafer scale, creating the possibility of fabrication costs of a few dollars per device. In addition, the record imaging range and high and flexible imaging speed of MEMS-VCSELs has enabled retinal imaging, anterior eye imaging and whole eye imaging for ocular biometry to be performed in a single multi-modal instrument for the first time. The rapid tuning speed has been combined with advanced image processing to enable dye free OCT angiography (OCTA), which is capable of imaging key early markers associated with both wet and dry AMD and DR. Applications of this new OCTA technology continue to emerge. Manufacturability and reliability challenges remain significant barriers to volume commercialization of MEMS-eVCSELs. These challenges constitute a classic “valley of death” between technology demonstration and commercial product. SSOCT imaging places stringent requirements on MEMS- eVCSEL tuning range, tuning speed, polarization, and spectral purity, which are without precedent in other semiconductor laser applications. Additionally, these critical parameters must be achieved with sufficient yield to meet aggressive price targets necessary for high-volume low cost applications, and be maintained over a several thousand hour lifetime. This work therefore seeks to address and overcome the manufacturability and reliability challenges associated with MEMS-eVCSELs, and lay a foundation for high-volume commercialization of these devices.