On the inverse problem in optical coherence tomography

Abstract We examine the inverse problem of retrieving sample refractive index information in the context of optical coherence tomography. Using two separate approaches, we discuss the limitations of the inverse problem which lead to it being ill-posed, primarily as a consequence of the limited viewing angles available in the reflection geometry. This is first considered from the theoretical point of view of diffraction tomography under a weak scattering approximation. We then investigate the full non-linear inverse problem using a variational approach. This presents another illustration of the non-uniqueness of the solution, and shows that even the non-linear (strongly scattering) scenario suffers a similar fate as the linear problem, with the observable spatial Fourier components of the sample occupying a limited support. Through examples we demonstrate how the solutions to the inverse problem compare when using the variational and diffraction-tomography approaches.