US 12,669,436 B2 · Versatile multimodal optical modality based on Brillouin light scattering and photoacoustic effect

Abstract

A multimodal optical technique that can measure the mechanical, optical, and acoustical properties of the sample at microscopic resolution, which is based on the integration of a Brillouin microscope and a photoacoustic (PA) microscopy is provided. The multimodal technique not only can acquire co-registered Brillouin and PA signals of the sample but also allows us to utilize the sound speed measurements by PA to quantify the sample's refractive index, which is an essential property of the material and cannot be measured by either technique individually. We demonstrated the colocalization of Brillouin and time-resolved PA signals by measuring the interface of kerosene and 1% CuSO4 aqueous solution. In addition, we measured the refractive index of saline solutions with a precision of 0.003 and validated the result against published data. This multimodal modality could open new way for charactering biological cell and tissue in physiological and pathological conditions.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A multimodal optical apparatus for imaging a sample to provide comprehensive mechanical properties, the multimodal optical apparatus comprising:

a sample cell that holds the sample;
a first light source for providing a Brillouin light beam to the sample for Brillouin scattering;
a first optical system for directing and modifying the Brillouin light beam, the first optical system providing a p-polarized light beam to the sample;
a second light source for providing a photoacoustic light beam to the sample for photoacoustic excitation;
a second optical system for directing and modifying the photoacoustic light beam, the second optical system providing a s-polarized light beam to the sample;
a third optical system for coupling the Brillouin light beam to the photoacoustic light beam as a coupled light beam after the first optical system and the second optical system, the third optical system directing the coupled light beam to the sample;
a Brillouin spectrometer for collecting a Brillouin signal generated from the sample;
and
an acoustic detector for detecting a photoacoustic signal generated from the sample.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Versatile multimodal optical modality based on Brillouin light scattering and photoacoustic effect

Life of this patent

Versatile multimodal optical modality based on Brillouin light scattering and photoacoustic effect

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims16