Optimum spectral window for imaging of art with optical coherence tomography

Liang, H ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9496-406X, Lange, R, Peric, B and Spring, M, 2013. Optimum spectral window for imaging of art with optical coherence tomography. Applied Physics B: Lasers and Optics, 111 (4), pp. 589-602. ISSN 0946-2171

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Abstract

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has been shown to have potential for important applications in the field of art conservation and archaeology due to its ability to image subsurface microstructures non-invasively. However, its depth of penetration in painted objects is limited due to the strong scattering properties of artists’ paints. VIS-NIR (400 nm – 2400 nm) reflectance spectra of a wide variety of paints made with historic artists’ pigments have been measured. The best spectral window with which to use optical coherence tomography (OCT) for the imaging of subsurface structure of paintings was found to be around 2.2 μm. The same spectral window would also be most suitable for direct infrared imaging of preparatory sketches under the paint layers. The reflectance spectra from a large sample of chemically verified pigments provide information on the spectral transparency of historic artists’ pigments/paints as well as a reference set of spectra for pigment identification. The results of the paper suggest that broadband sources at ~2 microns are highly desirable for OCT applications in art and potentially material science in general.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Applied Physics B: Lasers and Optics
Creators:	Liang, H., Lange, R., Peric, B. and Spring, M.
Publisher:	Springer
Place of Publication:	Berlin
Date:	2013
Volume:	111
Number:	4
ISSN:	0946-2171
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1007/s00340-013-5378-5 DOI
Divisions:	Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by:	EPrints Services
Date Added:	09 Oct 2015 10:56
Last Modified:	09 Jun 2017 13:45
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/20407

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