BROADBAND FOCUSING FOR EXTREME MULTIMODAL MICROSCOPY

用于极端多模态显微镜的宽带聚焦

• 批准号: 10573976
• 负责人: Eric Olaf Potma
• 金额: $ 28.25万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-01 至 2025-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10573976
• 关键词: Affect; Astronomy; Biological; California; Collection; Color; Computer software; County; Dermal; Detection; Deterioration; Development; Diamond; Elements; Engineering; Exhibits; Fluorescence; Frequencies; Generations; Geometry; Housing; Image; Imaging Techniques; Imaging technology; Lasers; Light; Microscope; Microscopy; Modality; Molecular; Multimodal Imaging; Optics; Oranges; Performance; Phase; Photons; Physiologic pulse; Property; Radiation; Research Personnel; Resolution; Sampling; Signal Transduction; Source; Specific qualifier value; Sum; System; Techniques; Technology; Testing; Tissues; Universities; design; fabrication; high resolution imaging; imaging capabilities; imaging modality; imaging properties; improved; innovation; lens; light emission; manufacture; multimodality; new technology; novel; optical imaging; supply chain; tool; transmission process; two-photon; ultraviolet; virtual

Project Summary Virtually all optical microscopes for biological imaging are based on refractive objective lenses. The performance of these lenses approaches the theoretical limit, however, their use is limited to the visible to near-infrared spectral range. Even within this range, their performance is only guaranteed over a relatively narrow range, and broadband use is invariably affected by chromatic aberrations. Another problem is the group delay dispersion that these lenses introduce to short optical pulses, which reduces the efficiency of nonlinear optical (NLO) signal generation in the microscope. Taken together, these shortcomings seriously compromise the imaging properties of several NLO imaging modalities such as three-photon excited fluorescence and third-harmonic generation. In addition, refractive objectives simply cannot be used for NLO techniques that incorporate excitation light in the mid-infrared (MIR) range, such as photothermal imaging and sum-frequency generation, promising technologies based on MIR molecular contrast. The only viable alternative is the all-reflective Schwarzschild-Cassegrain (SC) objective, which is inherently achromatic but suffers from a non-ideal pointspread function and a center obscuration that limits throughput. Because of these limitations, SC lenses have not found widespread use in biological imaging applications. This lack of performance is also the reason why advances in exciting new MIR-based NLO imaging technologies have been stifled: there simply are no high-performance high numerical focusing options available to support these emerging imaging technologies. In this project, we develop a novel all-reflective high numerical aperture lens that overcomes all limitations of the SC focusing lens. Based on a non-concentric design, this new design features perfect color correction from the ultra-violet to the mid-infrared, exhibits a wide field of view, dramatically reduces group delay dispersion and significantly improves throughput by eliminating the center obscuration all together. This lens not only advances existing NLO modalities that rely on broadband radiation, but also enables new technologies such as photothermal imaging and SFG microscopy that have thus far suffered from low performance focusing optics.

项目摘要 几乎所有用于生物成像的光学显微镜都是基于折射率镜片的。 这些镜头的性能接近理论限制，但是它们的使用是有限的 到可见到近红外光谱范围。即使在这个范围内，他们的表现也只是 保证在相对狭窄的范围内，宽带使用总是受到 色差。另一个问题是这些镜片的群体延迟分散 引入简短的光学脉冲，从而降低了非线性光学信号的效率 在显微镜中产生。综上所述，这些缺点严重妥协了 几种NLO成像模态的成像特性，例如三光激发 荧光和第三次谐波产生。另外，屈光目标根本不能 用于在中红外（mir）范围内融合激发光的NLO技术， 作为光热成像和总和生成，基于miR的有希望的技术 分子对比。唯一可行的替代方案是全反射的schwarzschild-cassegrain （SC）目标，它本质上是可观的，但具有非理想点功能 以及限制吞吐量的中心晦涩。由于这些限制，SC镜头有 在生物成像应用中未发现广泛使用。缺乏表现也是 令人兴奋的新基于miR的NLO成像技术的发展之所以如此 扼杀：根本没有可用的高性能高数值聚焦选项 支持这些新兴成像技术。 在这个项目中，我们开发了一种新颖的全反射高数值光圈镜头 克服了SC聚焦镜头的所有局限性。基于非集中设计，这个新的 设计具有从超紫色到中红外的完美颜色校正，展现了 视野，大大减少了组延迟分散并显着改善吞吐量 通过消除中心的晦涩。该镜头不仅可以推动现有的NLO 依赖宽带辐射的方式，但也可以实现新技术 光热成像和SFG显微镜迄今遭受了低性能 聚焦光学器件。