We demonstrate a compact all-fiber sampling probe for an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system. By forming a focusing lens directly on the tip of an optical fiber, a compact sampling probe could be implemented. To simultaneously achieve a sufficiently long working distance and a good lateral reso lution, we employed a large-mode area photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and a coreless silica fiber (CSF) of the same diameters. A working distance of up to $1270\mathrm{\mu m}$ , a $3\mathrm{dB}$ distance range of $2210\mathrm{\mu m}$ , and a transverse resolution of $14.2\mathrm{\mu m}$ were achieved with the implemented PCF lensed fiber; these values are comparable to those obtainable with a conventional objective lens having an NA of 0.25 ( $10\times$ ). The performance of the OCT system equipped with the proposed PCF lensed fiber is presented by showing the OCT images of a rat finger as a biological sample and a pearl as an in-depth sample.

© 2008 Optical Society of America

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