title: A compact Acousto-Optic Lens for 2D and 3D femtosecond based 2-photon microscopy.
abstract: We describe a high speed 3D Acousto-Optic Lens Microscope (AOLM) for femtosecond 2-photon imaging. By optimizing the design of the 4 AO Deflectors (AODs) and by deriving new control algorithms, we have developed a compact spherical AOL with a low temporal dispersion that enables 2-photon imaging at 10-fold lower power than previously reported. We show that the AOLM can perform high speed 2D raster-scan imaging (>150 Hz) without scan rate dependent astigmatism. It can deflect and focus a laser beam in a 3D random access sequence at 30 kHz and has an extended focusing range (>137 mum; 40X 0.8NA objective). These features are likely to make the AOLM a useful tool for studying fast physiological processes distributed in 3D space.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Kirkby
authors.forename: K M Naga
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Srinivas Nadella
authors.forename: R Angus
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Silver
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D004867:Equipment Design; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011058:Pollen / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014159:Transducers; D014465:Ultrasonics