Patent · US Expired

Pump probe cross correlation fluorescence frequency domain microscope and microscopy

US5814820A · kind A · utility

62Cited by
15References
18Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 9, 1996
Grant dateSep 29, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 9, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG02B21/16
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A scanning fluorescence lifetime microscope measures modulation and phase in fluorescence emission stimulated by spatially overlapped pump and probe beams operating at different frequencies. A pump laser modulated at a first frequency is focused onto a diffraction limited spot to excite a fluorescent sample under study. Simultaneously, a probe laser modulated at a second frequency is focused onto the same spot to induce a stimulated fluorescence emission in response to the optically combined output of the pump and probe laser light. Fluorescence emitted from the sample produces a cross-correlation signal which is dependent upon the spatial overlapping of the pump and probe beams at the focal point thereby producing a beneficial axial sectioning effect. Choosing a small differency frequency between the modulation of the first and second laser sources produces a low frequency cross correlation signal even when the modulation frequencies of the pump and probe lasers are very high. A signal processor obtains modulation and phase information from the low frequency cross correlation fluorescence signal allowing monitoring of even ultrafast fluorescence phenomena induced by high frequency…

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