Apparatus and methods for controlling heating of an objective in a linescanning sequencing system to improve resolution

An apparatus, comprising:

• a beam source for providing input radiation;
• a beam shaping group having:
• one or more optical elements configured to receive the input radiation from the beam source and further configured to shape the input radiation into a first beam, the first beam having a long axis, and a short axis perpendicular to the long axis, and
• a modifier configured to widen the first beam in a direction along the short axis of the first beam to generate a shaped beam;
• and
• an objective configured and positioned to transform the shaped beam into a probe beam focused to a focal plane of the objective, wherein the objective is defocused such that the focal plane is further from the objective than a sample being optically probed,
• wherein the modifier is configured to widen the first beam to generally uniformly illuminate the objective, and wherein the probe beam is a substantially line-shaped beam at or near the focal plane of the objective.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a beam source configured to provide input radiation;
• a multi-mode fiber configured to receive the input radiation from the beam source and to output radiation from an output of the multi-mode fiber, the output being at an output plane of the multimode fiber;
• a beam shaping group having one or more optical elements configured to (i) receive the output radiation from the multi-mode fiber, (ii) project an image of the output plane of the multi-mode fiber, and (iii) expand the image in one direction;
• and
• an objective configured to receive the image from the beam shaping group, and further configured to project the image to a focal plane of the objective.

A method of optically probing a sample, the method comprising:

• providing, by a beam source, input radiation to a beam shaping group, the beam shaping group including one or more optical elements;
• performing, by the beam shaping group, beam shaping of the input radiation and forming a shaped beam;
• and
• focusing, by an objective, the shaped beam to form a probe beam, the probe beam focused at a focal plane of the objective for optically probing a sample,
• wherein the beam shaping group adjusts one or more properties of the shaped beam over time to generally uniformly heat the objective.