Sensitivity improvement of optical fiber acoustic probe for all-optical photoacoustic imaging system

An acoustic probe based on a Fabry-Perot interferometer composed of a polymer film attached to the end of an optical fiber was designed and fabricated for an endoscopic, all-optical photoacoustic imaging system. The finesse of the interferometer was improved by forming a half-mirror at the end of the fiber and a partial reflection mirror on the outer surface of the polymer film. A photoacoustic imaging system was constructed by combining the fiber-optic acoustic probe with a bundle of hollow optical fibers used for the excitation of the photoacoustic wave, and an image of blood capillaries in a fish ovarian membrane was successfully obtained.