Patent ID: 9709380
Date: 2017-07-18
CPC Classifications: G01B

Claim:
1. A method for reducing the dimensionality of a spatially registered signal derived from the optical properties of a sample, the method comprising: providing a wavelength-tunable light source that emits primary radiation with time-variant wavelength; sampling location points of the sample with the primary radiation; collecting secondary radiation, wherein the secondary radiation is a portion of the primary radiation reflected by the sample; generating an interferometer-based detection signal for each of a plurality of sample areas that respectively contain at least one location point by a detection unit, wherein the detection signal is generated in the form of a differential signal between two output signals of a beam splitter that respectively receives reference radiation and secondary radiation at two inputs, wherein the reference radiation is a portion of the primary radiation that is not routed to the sample, and wherein depth information of said sample is encoded in the frequency of said interferometer-based detection signal; and removing said depth information from the interferometer-based detection signal and thereby reducing the dimensionality of said spatially registered signal by determining a brightness value for at least one of the sample areas from a radiofrequency power component of the detection signal for the individual sample areas over a frequency range from and including 3 kHz to 30 GHz or over at least one frequency sub-range thereof, to assess backscattering intensity of the secondary radiation within said frequency range or subrange, thereby removing said depth information contained in individual frequencies within said frequency range or subrange from said spatially registered signal.