title: A STED microscope aligned by design.
abstract: STED microscopes are commonly built using separate optical paths for the excitation and the STED beam. As a result, the beams must be co-aligned and can be subject to mechanical drift. Here, we present a single-path STED microscope whose beams are aligned by design and hence is insensitive to mechanical drift. The design of a phase plate is described which selectively modulates the STED beam but leaves the excitation beam unaffected. The performance of the single-beam setup is on par with previous dual-beam designs.
authors.affiliation: Department of NanoBiophotonics, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wildanger
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bückers
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Westphal
authors.forename: Stefan W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Hell
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kastrup
mesh_terms: D002138:Calibration; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005858:Germany; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards