Abstract
Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy provides previously unobtainable spatial resolution. But the complexity and cost of the early implementations based on pulsed mode-locked lasers have limited its wide dissemination. The combination of time-gated detection with STED microscopy significantly helped to overcome this limitation. Indeed, a cheap, easy-to-implement and efficient implementation of STED microscopy can be obtained using also continuous-wave (CW) lasers, the so-called gated CW-STED implementation. Here we show that the performance of this system substantially depends on the intensity noise characteristic of the CW laser. Weak intensity fluctuations reduce the average intensity needed for obtaining a certain resolution, which is a key condition to reduce photodamage on the sample. We simulate the influence of intensity noise on the performance of a gated CW-STED microsope and we validate the results comparing two lasers with different intensity noise properties. Finally, we show that the excellent noise characteristics of the optical-pumped-semiconductor lasers allow implementation of a gated CW-STED microscope which provides ∼45 nm resolution in a biological sample at moderate (average and peak) intensity light.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
