Patent ID: 7667850

Claim:
An imaging system comprising: a low-coherence light source; a delay line; a mirror; an imager; a beam splitter; and optics between the low-coherence light source and the beam splitter that increase size of a low-coherence light beam emerging from the low-coherence light source; wherein the beam splitter is placed in a light path of low-coherence light from the coherence light beam emerging from the light source, dividing the low-coherence light into an outgoing low-coherence light portion and a reference low-coherence light portion; wherein the outgoing low-coherence light portion is directed toward an object to be imaged; wherein at least part of return low-coherence light from the object is directed by the beam splitter to the imager; wherein the reference low-coherence light portion passes through the delay line and is reflected by the mirror to the imager; wherein the light from the light source has a coherence length on the order of 1 mm; wherein the imaging system images objects at an imaging plane; and wherein the imaging plane has a depth on the order of the coherence length of the light from the light source.