Microlaser microscope

Abstract

A scanned laser microscope with no moving parts is described. The source for this device is an array of 250 000 microlasers on a single substrate, each laser being typically 2 mm in diameter. The entire array is imaged on the microscope's object plane, but only one laser emits light at a given instant. Thus, as the array is electronically scanned, the illumination spot moves over the object. In the simplest configuration, a beam splitter returns light from the object to a detector, and the resulting voltage stream is synchronously displayed on a television monitor. The microscope can thus be packaged in a volume of ~1 cm3 (plus electronics). Variants on the basic microscope permit random access to any pixel, transmission microscopy, and a wide range of field sizes. Later versions will incorporate a synchronous solid-state detector array, which makes this a confocal microscope, and multiplexing of the array elements so that the device has both the scanning laser (confocal) microscope's brightness and the tandem-scanning (confocal) microscope's Felgetts advantage. This detector array can be used to run much faster than television scanning rates or to use much less light, thus avoiding fluorophore bleaching. Ultimately, the microscope can be further miniaturized so that it can be introduced into body cavities and other difficult places. Finally, the same technology can be used to make an inexpensive high-brightness display that is small enough to be worn on an eyeglass frame.