Patent ID: 7978346

Claim:
A method for three-dimensional optical imaging comprising the steps of: producing two orthogonally polarized optical scanning beams using an acousto-optic tunable filter arrangement; for each one of three different independent and orthogonal directions, axial scanning a three-dimensional object under evaluation with the two orthogonally polarized optical scanning beams on a point-by-point basis; detecting reflected optical energy from the three dimensional object under evaluation to collect plural one-dimensional axial scan optical data sets of the three-dimensional object; axial shifting of either a focus of the scanning optical beam or the object under evaluation in an axial direction only; repeating the scanning and axial shifting until the three-dimensional object under evaluation has been scanned on the point-by-point basis for each of the three different independent and orthogonal look directions to produce three sets of one-dimensional cross-sectional axial scan image data sets; and processing each set of one-dimensional axial scan data sets from each of the three orthogonal look directions by a computer executing a computer algorithm to produce three volumetric data sets; and combining the three volumetric data sets to a three-dimensional reconstructed image.