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Femtosecond fiber lasers for bioimaging

Sub-micron spatial imaging resolution can be achieved through the use of optical microscopy which offers well-established techniques. The development of fiber optic technology, including fiber laser systems, has been noticed and used in many applications. Recently, researchers have found that ultrashort light pulses that are produced by femtosecond fiber lasers can be utilized in a variety of new biomedical imaging modalities. There are several techniques that utilize the high peak power that is possible with ultrashort pulses. The pulses can be focused to high intensity to drive nonlinear-optical processes, e.g. multiphoton absorption in molecules used as fluorescent labels.
Some biologically-important substances, like lipids, nucleic acids, sugars, etc. have characteristic vibrational spectra which can be distinguished easily. The generation of images with chemical contrast is possible through the use of microscopy with vibrational spectroscopy. The imaging is a basis of coherent Raman scattering (CRS) microscopies – it allows to detect the presence of certain substances without the use of exogenous dyes.
The development of femtosecond fiber lasers has been a big step in achieving new advances in nonlinear microscopy. Femtosecond fiber lasers have enabled dramatic growth of multiphoton and harmonic-generation imaging. This can be explained by various benefits that fiber lasers offer:

  1. The waveguide medium eliminates the need for precise alignment and makes long cavity length possible;
  2. Fiber lasers offer high beam quality, which is extremely valuable for many areas of fiber laser applications;
  3. Fiber gain media are efficient and can adequate levels of power for bioimaging;
  4. Fiber lasers are naturally suitable for integration with endoscopic instruments.

Recently developed femtosecond fiber lasers outperform traditionally used solid state lasers. Femtosecond fiber lasers are already used as an alternative to solid-state lasers in many different applications, and the research that is being put into the further development of femtosecond lasers means that they will continue to replace solid state lasers.
Optromix Inc., headquartered in Cambridge, MA, USA, is a manufacturer of laser technologies, optical fiber sensors, and optical monitoring systems. We develop and manufacture a broad variety of Fiber lasers, Femtosecond Fiber lasers, СО 2 lasers, Ti: Sapphire lasers, Dye lasers, and Excimer Lasers. We offer simple Erbium laser and Ytterbium laser products, as well as sophisticated laser systems with unique characteristics, based on the client’s inquiry.
If you are interested in Optromix femtosecond fiber lasers, please contact us at info@optromix.com