Nonlinear-microscopy optical-pulse sources based on mode-locked semiconductor lasers.
We developed picosecond optical-pulse sources suitable for multiphoton microscopy based on mode-locked semiconductor lasers. Using external-cavity geometry, stable hybrid mode locking was achieved at a repetition rate of 500 MHz. Semiconductor optical amplifiers driven by synchronized electric pulses reached subharmonic optical-pulse repetition rates of 1-100 MHz. Two-stage Yb-doped fiber amplifiers produced optical pulses of 2 ps duration, with a peak power of a few kilowatts at a repetition rate of 10 MHz. These were employed successfully for nonlinear-optic bio-imaging using two-photon fluorescence, second-harmonic generation, and sum-frequency generation of synchronized two-color pulses.
Yokoyama
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H
New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, Tohoku University, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Japan. yoko@niche.tohoku.ac.jp
Sato
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A
Guo
H-C
HC
Sato
K
K
Mure
M
M
Tsubokawa
H
H