Broadband multiplex coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy employing photonic-crystal fibers

Hyperspectral multimodal CARS microscopy in the fingerprint region

“…Ideally, a single source of Stokes light should be used to scan the full Raman spectrum (intra-pulse filtering is unlikely, as this would require a high-power sub-2-fs laser source). There exist PCF-based SCG sources well-suited to imaging in the high frequency region [12,[19][20][21][22], but these have not been utilized for fingerprint region SF-CARS, although new fibers may extend the effective spectral range [23]. Here we describe the extension of a simple multimodal SF-CARS technique to the fingerprint (850-1800 cm À1 ) region.…”

Single laser source for multimodal coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy

“…Use of an OPO to generate the pump and Stokes removes the problems with timing jitter and alignment during spectral tuning [15,27]. Use of a single laser and a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) to generate the Stokes, however, automatically synchronizes the pulses and represents a simple and cost-efficient method for performing CARS microscopy [17,36,37]. Laser alignment into the fiber is prone to vibrations and environmental changes, but automated fiber alignment feedback systems exist that can compensate for these drifts.…”

“…A pump laser is combined with a method to generate the Stokes pulse. The Stokes can be generated by a second synchronized laser [14], an OPO [15,27], or a PCF [17,36,37] as discussed above. The power utilized is limited by sample damage, with typical power levels of the order of 10-50 mW for live-cell imaging (assuming ∼80 MHz pulse repetition rate and a pixel dwell time of ∼4-8 μs).…”

Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering Microscopy by Dispersive Wave Generations in a Polarization Maintaining Photonic Crystal Fiber

“…By designing the structures of PCFs, it is possible to tailor the output spectral distribution for concentrating the power at the desired spectral ranges relevant for the CARS microscopy [13][14][15][16][17]. Over the last few years, the CARS microscopy with PCFs has been developed to simplify the system and reduce the costs.…”