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Low-Coherence Interferometry: OCT Axial Resolution

Interactive Michelson low-coherence interferometer: tune source wavelength and bandwidth, move the reference mirror through a two-layer sample, and watch coherence gating set the axial resolution of an OCT A-scan in real time.

Medicine & Biophysics3DAdvanced60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 2D version

Optical coherence tomography images tissue depth without any lens ever focusing on the layer being measured — instead it exploits the short coherence length of a broadband light source inside a Michelson interferometer. This simulator builds that interferometer in 3D: a source beam splits into a reference arm (movable mirror) and a sample arm (two reflective layers at an adjustable separation), and only recombines with a strong signal when the two path lengths match to within the source's coherence length. Tune the center wavelength and spectral bandwidth to see the textbook trade-off between coherence length and axial resolution, then narrow the layer separation until the two depth peaks in the live A-scan merge into one — the exact moment the system can no longer resolve them.

⚙ Under the hood

Interactive Michelson low-coherence interferometer: tune the source wavelength and bandwidth, scan the reference mirror through a two-layer sample, and watch coherence gating set the axial resolution of an OCT A-scan in real time.

OCTinterferometrycoherence lengthbiomedical imagingaxial resolutionoptics

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install