Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh

Vishnu Vardhan Krishnamachari

Volker Seyfried

William C Hay

Bernd Widzgowski

Manuel Kremer

Patric Mrawek

Arnold Giske

William Hay

An electric circuit for a microscope includes a lock-in amplifier. The lock-in amplifier has an input for an input signal, an input for a reference signal, an output for an output signal and a bandwidth filter configured such that a low bandwidth frequency value and/or a high bandwidth frequency value is variably settable. A dynamic bandwidth controller is configured to receive at least one parameter of a current setting of the microscope as an input, and to control the low bandwidth frequency value and/or the high bandwidth frequency value of the lock-in amplifier as a function of the at least one parameter of the current setting of the microscope.

Dynamic lock-in detection bandwidth for SRS imaging

A method for adjusting an intensity of a light beam in an optical arrangement includes passing the light beam through an acousto-optical tunable filter (AOTF). The intensity of the light beam is adjusted as a function of frequency and/or amplitude of a sound wave with which the AOTF is operated. The amplitude of the sound wave at a specified sound wave frequency is selected such that the amplitude is larger than would be required to achieve a first maximum diffraction efficiency for a specified wavelength or for a specified wavelength spectrum of the light beam. The amplitude of the sound wave is also selected such that a value of an integral of a product of the transmission function of the AOTF and the wavelength spectrum of the light beam is larger than at a value of the amplitude to be selected to achieve the first maximum.

Method for adjusting the intensity of a light beam in an optical arrangement and associated optical arrangement

A light/voltage converter circuit for converting intensity fluctuations of light into an alternating voltage measurement signal includes a photodiode configured to detect the light and a transformer comprising a primary coil and a secondary coil. The primary coil is connected in a series circuit to the photodiode, and the alternating voltage measurement signal is applied to the secondary coil. An electrical network is configured to block direct current and conduct alternating current. The electrical network is connected in parallel with the series circuit consisting of the primary coil of the transformer and the photodiode.

Light/voltage converter circuit for converting intensity fluctuations of light into an alternating voltage measurement signal

The invention relates to a beam combiner for a microscope, in particular a scanning microscope, which receives at least a first illuminating light bundle and a second illuminating light bundle and combines them into a collinear output light bundle, the first illuminating light bundle and the second illuminating light bundle having the same illuminating light wavelength but a different polarization, in particular linear polarization. The beam combiner is embodied as an acousto-optic beam combiner and is constructed and operated in such a way that by interaction with at least one mechanical wave, both the first illuminating light bundle and the second illuminating light bundle are diffracted and are thereby directed into a common optical axis.

Microscope and acousto-optic beam combiner for a microscope

A Raman microscopy imaging device () is described, having: a first laser light source () for emitting a first laser beam () having a first wavelength along a first light path (); a second laser light source () for emitting a second laser beam () having a second wavelength, different from the first wavelength, along a second light path () physically separated from the first light path (); a beam combining element () for collinearly combining the two laser beams () in one shared light path () directed onto a sample; a detector () for sensing a measured signal on the basis of the two laser beams () interacting with the sample; and an evaluation unit () for evaluating the measured signal sensed by the detector (). According to the present invention the first laser light source () is embodied as a pulsed source, and the second laser light source () as a continuous source.

Raman microscopic imaging device

A device () for illuminating a sample () is described, having: at least one pulsed laser light source () for repeated emission of a first laser pulse along a first light path () and of a second laser pulse along a second light path () physically separated from the first light path; a superimposition element () for collinear superimposition of the two laser pulses in a shared light path (); a delay stage () arranged in the first or the second light path (), for delaying one of the two laser pulses relative to the other laser pulse in such a way that the two laser pulses sent along the shared light path () onto the sample () exhibit a temporal superimposition; a shared chirp unit () arranged in the shared light path (), for frequency-modifying influencing both of the first laser pulse and of the second laser pulse; and at least one separate chirp unit () arranged in the first light path (), for frequency-modifying influencing only of the first laser pulse. The shared chirp unit () and the separate chirp unit () are coordinated with one another in order to achieve a target state. The separate chirp unit () is coupled to a control system () by which the separate chirp unit () is controllable with a control parameter dependent on the wavelength of the first laser pulse in order to establish the target state.

Device and method for illuminating a sample

The invention relates to a microscope having an acousto-optic apparatus () that, with a mechanical wave that is characterized by a preferably adjustable frequency, removes from a polychromatic and collinear detected light bundle () portions of illuminated light, scattered and/or reflected at a sample, having an illuminating light wavelength associated with the frequency. The microscope is notable for the fact that a crystal () of the acousto-optic apparatus in which the mechanical wave propagates, and the propagation direction of the mechanical wave, are oriented relative to the detected light bundle incident into the crystal in such a way that the acousto-optic apparatus deflects, with the mechanical wave, both the portion of the detected light bundle having the illuminating wavelength and a first linear polarization direction, and the portion of the detected light bundle having the illuminating wavelength and a second linear polarization direction perpendicular to the first polarization direction, and thereby removes them from the detected light bundle.

Microscope with an acousto-optical device

The invention relates to an acousto-optic main beam splitter for a scanning microscope, which is embodied and intended to direct illuminating light having a preselected or preselectable illuminating light wavelength into an illumination beam path for illumination of a sample, and to direct detected light coming from a sample into a detection beam path. The acousto-optic main beam splitter is characterized in that a mechanical wave having an acoustic frequency associated with the illuminating light wavelength propagates, or multiple mechanical waves that have the same acoustic frequency associated with the illuminating light wavelength propagate, in the acousto-optic main beam splitter, both a portion of the detected light bundle having the illuminating light wavelength and a first linear polarization direction, and a portion of the detected light having the illuminating light wavelength and a second linear polarization direction perpendicular to the first linear polarization direction, being deflected out of the detected light bundle coming from a sample by interaction with the one mechanical wave or by interaction with the mechanical waves, and are thereby removed from the detected light bundle; and/or the acousto-optic main beam splitter being embodied to direct, by interaction with the one mechanical wave or by interaction with the mechanical waves, both the portion of illuminating light that has the preselected illuminating light wavelength and a first linear polarization direction, and the portion of illuminating light that has the preselected illuminating light wavelength and a second linear polarization direction that is different from, in particular perpendicular to, the first linear polarization direction, into an illumination beam path for illumination of a sample.

Scanning microscope and acousto-optical main beam splitter for a scanning microscope

The invention relates to a method for investigating a sample, the sample being impinged upon by illuminating light, and detected light emerging from the sample being directed to a detector, and the illuminating light being directed through an acousto-optic component with which the impingement upon the sample by illuminating light can be temporarily interrupted. The method is notable for the fact that the sample is illuminated with a first illuminating light bundle that has a first linear polarization direction, and with a second illuminating light bundle whose linear polarization direction is continuously switched over between the first linear polarization direction and a second linear polarization direction different from the first linear polarization direction, the illuminating light having the first linear polarization direction proceeding along a first light path and illuminating light having the second linear polarization direction proceeding along a second light path, and the acousto-optic component combining the light paths.

Scanning microscope with polarised sample illumination

A tunable multiple laser pulse scanning microscope and a method of operating the same is described, applying two pulsed laser beams with distinct wavelengths incident on a scanning spot of a sample to be imaged simultaneously or at a specific time delay. The microscope comprises at least two pulsed laser light sources emitting laser light of distinct wavelengths, an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) for tuning at least one of the laser pulses, a delay stage provided upstream of the AOTF, and an actuator for moving delay stage depending on the time delay. As a result, the wavelength of at least one type of pulses is tuned, and the delay between at least two pulses of distinct wavelengths is adjusted.

Tunable multiple laser pulse scanning microscope and method of operating the same

An apparatus for the microscopic examination of an object has an illumination system which generates a first illumination light beam and a second illumination light beam. A first polarization filter () circularly polarizes the first illumination light beam. A second polarization filter () linearly polarizes the second illumination light beam. A modulator () allows a modulation of the polarized second illumination light beam. An excitation optical system directs the two illumination light beams onto an object. A detection optical system directs detection light beams emanating from the object onto at least two detector units, a first detector unit detecting a first nonlinear Raman effect and a second detector unit detecting a second nonlinear Raman effect.

Apparatus and method for multi-modal imaging in nonlinear raman microscopy

An optical evaluation method and an apparatus for performing said method are described. First laser pulses of a first type and second laser pulses of a second type that differs from the first type are sent onto a sample to be examined. The sample is hit with first incident light from the two laser pulses in at least one manner of simultaneously, within a very short time lag between the two laser pulses, and a time-correlated manner of the two laser pulses, thereby generating a first optical signal, and hit with second incident light from the two laser pulses, thereby generating a second optical signal. The generated first and second optical signals are detected with at least one detector; and an electronic difference between the first and second optical signals is generated.

Growing community of inventors

Seeheim-Jugenheim, Germany

Vishnu Vardhan Krishnamachari