title: Pulse compression in two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy.
abstract: The use of shorter pulses is a practical way to improve the signal in two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy. We report on the theoretical and experimental results of pulse compression in a two-photon excitation fluorescence microscope by using approximately 100-fs Ti:Sapphire laser and highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber. Effects of the fiber parameters, transmitted power, and group-delay dispersion provided by the gratings have been investigated to optimize the compressor performance. By using a 20-mm-long photonic crystal fiber with a zero dispersion wavelength of 850 nm, a compressed pulse of 23.6 fs starting from 94 fs at 790 nm is experimentally demonstrated as a verification of our simulations. By integrating the compressor with a two-photon excitation fluorescence microscope, 5.6 times increase in autofluorescence intensity of NAD(P)H in Nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells is demonstrated, showing its potential in enhanced imaging and sensing for disease diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Xiaobao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Wenyan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fu
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D009249:NADP / Q000378:metabolism; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D017785:Photons
chemical_list: D009249:NADP