Supercontinuum source, method for generating and emitting a supercontinuum, multiphoton excitation fluorescence microscope, and multiphoton excitation method

Abstract

An ultrashort light pulse oscillated from an ultrashort pulse oscillator enters a waveguide 2 via a polarization control element 3. After conversion into a supercontinuum by a nonlinear optical effect, it is compressed by a prism pair compressor 71 as pulse compressor 7, and then emitted. The waveguide 2, which is a nonlinear fiber with normal dispersion in the wavelength range from 850 to 1550, generates the supercontinuum having a spectrum continuous in a wavelength band width of at least 200 nm included in the wavelength range from 850 to 1550 nm. The supercontinuum, which has a peak power within 1 to 100 kW, can be used as excitation light in a multiphoton excitation fluorescence microscope for fluorescence observation of biological samples.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A supercontinuum source to generate and emit a supercontinuum, comprising:
 a pulse oscillator oscillating an ultrashort light pulse, and   a waveguide converting the oscillated ultrashort light pulse from the pulse oscillator into a supercontinuum by a nonlinear optical effect, and then emitting,   wherein   the waveguide has a conversion characteristic where the ultrashort light pulse is converted into the supercontinuum having a spectrum continuous in a wavelength band width of at least 200 nm included in the wavelength range from 850 to 1550 nm excluding the wavelength range from 1430 to 1550 nm and having a wavelength flatness within 3 dB in the wavelength band width of at least 200 nm included in the wavelength range from 850 to 1550 nm excluding the wavelength range from 1430 to 1550 nm, and   the pulse oscillator and the waveguide are operable to emit the supercontinuum with a peak power within 1 to 100 kW enabling multiphoton excitation of an object on an irradiated plane.   
     
     
         2 . The supercontinuum source as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the ultrashort light pulse has a pulse width not more than 1 ps and a center wavelength in the wavelength range from 1000 to 1100 nm. 
     
     
         3 . The supercontinuum source as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the waveguide has the conversion characteristic where the temporal shift of wavelength of the supercontinuum is continuous in one pulse. 
     
     
         4 . The supercontinuum source as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the waveguide is a fiber with normal dispersion in the wavelength range from 850 to 1550 nm excluding the wavelength range from 1430 to 1550 nm. 
     
     
         5 . The supercontinuum source as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein the center wavelength of the ultrashort light pulse is in the range of plus and minus 50 nm to the peak wavelength of the group velocity dispersion spectrum of the fiber with normal dispersion. 
     
     
         6 . The supercontinuum source as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising a pulse compressor to increase the peak power of the supercontinuum by compressing the supercontinuum emitted from the waveguide. 
     
     
         7 . The supercontinuum source as claimed in  claim 3 , further comprising a pulse compressor to increase the peak power of the supercontinuum by compressing the supercontinuum emitted from the waveguide. 
     
     
         8 . A supercontinuum source to generate and emit a supercontinuum, comprising
 a pulse oscillator oscillating an ultrashort light pulse, and   a waveguide converting the oscillated ultrashort light pulse from the pulse oscillator into a supercontinuum by a nonlinear optical effect and then emitting,   wherein   the waveguide has a conversion characteristic where the supercontinuum has a spectrum continuous in a band width of at least 200 nm included in the wavelength range from 850 to 1550 nm excluding the wavelength range from 1430 to 1550 nm and has a wavelength flatness within 3 dB in the wavelength band width of at least 200 nm included in the wavelength range from 850 to 1550 nm excluding the wavelength range from 1430 to 1550 nm, and   a pulse compressor is provided to increase the peak power of the supercontinuum emitted from the waveguide by pulse compression thereof.   
     
     
         9 . A method for generating and emitting a supercontinuum, comprising
 oscillating an ultrashort light pulse by a pulse oscillator,   making the ultrashort light pulse from the pulse oscillator enter into a waveguide, and   converting the ultrashort light pulse into a supercontinuum by a nonlinear optical effect in the waveguide, and then emitting therefrom,   wherein   the waveguide converts the ultrashort light pulse into the supercontinuum having a spectrum continuous in a band width of at least 200 nm included in the wavelength range from 850 to 1550 nm excluding the wavelength range from 1430 to 1550 nm and having a wavelength flatness within 3 dB in the wavelength band width of at least 200 nm included in the wavelength range from 850 to 1550 nm excluding the wavelength range from 1430 to 1550 nm,   further comprising emitting the supercontinuum with a peak power within 1 to 100 kW to enable multiphoton excitation of an object on an irradiated plane.   
     
     
         10 . The method for generating and emitting a supercontinuum as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the ultrashort light pulse oscillated from the pulse oscillator has a pulse width not more than 1 ps and the center wavelength in the wavelength range from 1000 nm to 1100 nm. 
     
     
         11 . The method for generating and emitting a supercontinuum as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the waveguide converts the ultrashort light pulse into the supercontinuum where the temporal shift of wavelength is continuous. 
     
     
         12 . The method for generating and emitting a supercontinuum as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the waveguide is a fiber with normal dispersion in the wavelength range from 850 to 1550 nm excluding the wavelength range from 1430 to 1550 nm. 
     
     
         13 . The method for generating and emitting a supercontinuum as claimed in  claim 12 , wherein the center wavelength of the ultrashort light pulse is in the range of plus and minus 50 nm to the peak wavelength of the group velocity dispersion spectrum of the fiber with normal dispersion. 
     
     
         14 . The method for generating and emitting a supercontinuum as claimed in  claim 9 , further comprising increasing the peak power of the supercontinuum emitted from the waveguide by pulse compression thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The method for generating and emitting a supercontinuum as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising increasing the peak power of the supercontinuum emitted from the waveguide by pulse compression thereof. 
     
     
         16 . A multiphoton excitation fluorescence microscope comprising the supercontinuum source as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising
 an optical system to irradiate an object with the supercontinuum emitted from the waveguide, and   a detector to detect a fluorescence emitted when the object is subjected to multiphoton excitation by the supercontinuum.   
     
     
         17 . The supercontinuum source as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the pulse compressor is a prism pair compressor comprising a pair of prisms where a light wave at a longer wavelength has a longer overall propagation length. 
     
     
         18 . The supercontinuum source as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the pulse compressor is a prism pair compressor comprising a pair of prisms where a light wave at a longer wavelength has a longer overall propagation length. 
     
     
         19 . A multiphoton excitation method for causing multiphoton excitation on a fluorescent substance by a supercontinuum, comprising
 an oscillation process where an ultrashort light pulse is oscillated by a pulse oscillator,   a conversion process where the ultrashort light pulse oscillated from the pulse oscillator is made enter into the waveguide, converted into the supercontinuum by a nonlinear optical effect in the waveguide, and then emitted,   a compression process where the peak power of the emitted supercontinuum is increased by pulse compression, and   an irradiation process where all or a part of the supercontinuum which peak power has been increased in the compression process is applied to the fluorescent substance to cause multiphoton excitation,   wherein   in the conversion process the ultrashort light pulse is converted in the waveguide into the supercontinuum having a spectrum continuous in a band width of at least 200 nm included in the wavelength range from 850 to 1550 nm excluding the wavelength range from 1430 to 1550 nm.   
     
     
         20 . The supercontinuum source as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the pulse compressor is a prism pair compressor comprising plural pairs of prisms where a light wave at a longer wavelength has a longer overall propagation length,
 further comprising a mirror at a position where the supercontinuum from the pairs of the prisms is returned thereto, making the supercontinuum pass through the pairs of the prisms plural times.   
     
     
         21 . The supercontinuum source as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the pulse compressor is a prism pair compressor comprising plural pairs of prisms where a light wave at a longer wavelength has a longer overall propagation length,
 further comprising a mirror at a position where the supercontinuum from the pairs of the prisms is returned thereto, making the supercontinuum pass through the pairs of the prisms plural times.   
     
     
         22 . The supercontinuum source as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the pulse compressor is a prism pair compressor comprising plural pairs of prisms where a light wave at a longer wavelength has a longer overall propagation length,
 further comprising a mirror at a position where the supercontinuum from the pairs of the prisms is returned thereto, making the supercontinuum pass through the pairs of the prisms plural times.