Two-photon fluorescence microscopy at extremely low excitation intensity
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of Michigan
InventorsOleg Varnavski, Theodore Goodson, III
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Abstract
The present disclosure pertains to two-photon microscopy, and specifically to methods and systems for optimizing the performance of entangled two-photon absorption (ETPA) microscopy. An ETPA microscope is described with time delay tunability to optimize the coincidence of entangled photons on a sample. The optimization allows for increased two-photon absorption by the sample, resulting in increased luminescence of the sample. The ETPA microscopy systems and methods described allow for nonlinear imaging using excitation energy intensities six orders of magnitude lower than comparable two-photon absorption microscopy techniques using classical light.
Claims20
A fluorescence probing system comprising:
- an entangled photon source to generate an entangled photon pair including an idler photon and a signal photon;
- a temporal delay line disposed to create a temporal delay between the idler photon and the signal photon to generate a temporally delayed entangled photon pair;
- a coupling stage positioned to probe a sample having a fluorophore with the temporal delayed entangled photon pair to excite a virtual state of the fluorophore;
- and
- a photodetector to detect fluorescent light emitted by the fluorophore and generate a signal indicative of the detected fluorescent light.
A method for performing fluorescence microscopy, the method comprising:
- providing, by an entangled photon source, an entangled photon pair to a temporal delay line, wherein the entangled photon pair includes a signal photon and an idler photon;
- providing, by the temporal delay line, a delay to the entangled photon pair to create a relative temporal delay between the signal photon and the idler photon;
- providing the entangled photon pair to a sample, wherein the sample absorbs the entangled photon pair and emits fluorescence;
- detecting, by a detector, the fluorescence;
- and
- generating, by the detector, a signal indicative of the detected fluorescence.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.