Comprehensive study of light scattering on TiO2 nanoparticles referring to optical coherence tomography single A-scan

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a well-known cross-sectional and 3D imaging technique, which has been widely applied in medical diagnosis, especially in ophthalmology. The basis of OCT let this method to provide measurements in non-contact and non-destructive way. Moreover, along with the technology progress, the components of OCT like a swept source and detectors become cheaper, making this measurement tool attractive for industry. Presented studies are focused on beyond medical applications. The main aim of this research is the analysis of the light scattering phenomena on TiO2 nanoparticles inside poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix in a frame of OCT. It may lead to develop the new attractive OCT based method for evaluation the materials composites below the standard OCT resolution. The research report is composed of two parts: 1) a theoretical analysis and 2) an experimental verification. In the first part, the analysis and modeling of light scattering has been made. This theoretical work and calculations include the limits from Gaussian beam principles and coupling the scattered signal from the nanoparticle to the returned beam that is measured by an OCT system. In the second part, the obtained theoretical results were compared with the measurement signals delivered by a commercially available OCT system.