Open AccessSensitivity enhancement of fiber-laser-based stimulated Raman scattering microscopy by collinear balanced detection technique
Author(s) -
Keisuke Nose,
Yasuyuki Ozeki,
Takashi Kishi,
Kazuhiko Sumimura,
Norihiko Nishizawa,
Kiichi Fukui,
Yasuo Kanematsu,
Kazuyoshi Itoh
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.20.013958
Subject(s) - optics , raman scattering , laser , materials science , fiber laser , noise (video) , jitter , microscopy , raman spectroscopy , physics , artificial intelligence , electronic engineering , computer science , image (mathematics) , engineering
We propose the collinear balanced detection (CBD) technique for noise suppression in fiber laser (FL)-based stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy. This technique reduces the effect of laser intensity noise at a specific frequency by means of pulse splitting and recombination with a time delay difference. We experimentally confirm that CBD can suppress the intensity noise of second harmonic (SH) of Er-FL pulses by 13 dB.The measured noise level including the thermal noise is higher by only ~1.4 dB than the shot noise limit. To demonstrate SRS imaging, we use 4-ps SH pulses and 3-ps Yb-FL pulses, which are synchronized subharmonically with a jitter of 227 fs. The effectiveness of the CBD technique is confirmed through SRS imaging of a cultured HeLa cell.