Ultrafast Laser Offers Fully Flexible Dispersion Control for MPE Imaging

The Chameleon Vision-S from Coherent, Inc. sets
a new standard for multiphoton imaging by combining short (80 fs) pulsewidths
with the industry’s highest average power and longest wavelength tuning range. Specifically,
it delivers more than 410 kW of usable peak power—after GVD precompensation—and
hands-free tuning from 690 to 1050 nm. The blend of short pulsewidths and high
average power translate into the highest precompensated peak power currently
available from any “one-box” laser.

The Chameleon Vision-S is an ideal laser for
multiphoton excitation (MPE) imaging for several reasons. The laser’s high peak
power delivers maximum imaging brightness in deeper tissues. Moreover, because
the Chameleon Vision-S is a true one-box laser with the laser oscillator and
GVD precompensator integrated on a single baseplate, it also provides unmatched
beam pointing stability (80 microrad per 100 nm of tuning) which is another
prerequisite for deep tissue imaging.

The laser’s Group Velocity Dispersion (GVD)
precompensator provides seamless, hands-free adjustment of negative dispersion
from zero up to a maximum of 43,000 fs²—enabling unmatched pulse duration
flexibility at the sample, even in next generation microscopes with multiple AO
modulators. These next generation microscopes provide fast scanning of selected
image sectors in applications such as neuroscience that require high frame
rates to follow dynamic events in real-time. Plus the circular TEM₀₀ Gaussian output
beam (M² < 1.1) maximizes image resolution at any tissue depth.