Patent ID: 8446593

Claim:
A method for forming an image of a sample via optical coherence tomography, the method comprising: interrogating a first image point of M image points on the sample with a first plurality of wavelength bands that substantially collectively span a first wavelength range, wherein the first image point reflects a first reflected signal that is based on surface and sub-surface structure at the first image point; interrogating a second image point of the M image points on the sample with a second plurality of wavelength bands that substantially collectively span the first wavelength range, wherein the second image point reflects a second reflected signal based on surface and sub-surface structure at the second image point, and wherein the second plurality of wavelength bands and the first plurality of wavelength bands are spectrally interleaved; forming an interferometric signal based on M reflected signals, wherein the M reflected signals include the first reflected signal and the second reflected signal; time encoding the interferometric signal; and providing M output signals, wherein each of the M output signals is based on a different one of the M image points, and wherein each of the M output signals is provided by sampling the interferometric signal at a first detector.