In this Letter, we report a low-cost, portable, two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy imager that uses a fiber-based approach for both femtosecond supercontinuum (SC) generation and light delivery to the optical head. The SC generation is based on a tapered polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber that uses pre-chirped femtosecond narrowband pulses to generate a coherent SC spectrum with a bandwidth of approximately 300 nm. Using this approach, high-power, near-transform-limited, wavelength-selectable SC pulses are generated and directly delivered to the imaging optical head. Preliminary testing of this imager on brain slices is presented, demonstrating a high signal-to-noise ratio and sub-cellular imaging capabilities to a depth of approximately 200 µm. These results demonstrate the suitability of the technology for ex vivo and potentially in vivo cellular-level biomedical imaging applications.

中文翻译：

---

使用基于光纤的方法产生超连续谱并将光传输到小尺寸光学头的双光子显微镜。

在这封信中，我们报告了一种低成本、便携式、双光子激发荧光显微镜成像仪，该成像仪使用基于光纤的方法来生成飞秒超连续谱 (SC) 和向光学头传输光。SC 生成基于锥形保偏光子晶体光纤，该光纤使用预啁啾飞秒窄带脉冲来生成带宽约为 300 nm 的相干 SC 光谱。使用这种方法，可以产生高功率、近变换限制、波长可选的 SC 脉冲，并直接传送到成像光学头。介绍了该成像仪在脑切片上的初步测试，展示了高信噪比和亚细胞成像能力，深度约为 200 µm。