Nonlinear microscopy has become a key technology in biological imaging, enabling three-dimensional, noninvasive studies of biological tissue on the submicron scale. The new FemtoFiber ultra 920 from Toptica is designed to meet the needs of the community for a reliable, compact and cost-effective solution. The laser features a pulse duration <100 fs with a centre wavelength of 920nm and 1.5Watt of average power (18.5 nJ at 80 MHz repetition rate). The temporal and spatial beam characteristics of the laser are fully tailored for deep-tissue nonlinear microscopy, providing excellent optical contrast and signal-to-noise.
The FemtoFiber ultra 920 provides a small laser head with a footprint of only 23 x 15.5 cm². The laser head is designed to ensure minimum heat dissipation to its environment and therefore provides highest stability with respect to beam pointing. For more flexibility, the design also allows mounting the laser head into any integrators environment, even under various orientations (vertical/horizontal). The laser system comes with an 19“-type standard rack (3 units height) control and supply unit which is connected via detachable fibre and electronic lines of typ. 2m length.
The new product is a great solution for applications in non-linear microscopy that are based on two-photon excitation of fluorescent proteins or rely on SHG-based contrast mechanisms. With an emission wavelength of 920nm, the laser is perfectly tuned to efficiently excite green and yellow fluorescent proteins (GFP, YFP), which are commonly used e.g. in neurosciences and other biophotonic applications. With that, this fibre laser perfectly closes the wavelength gap in between the already existing FemtoFiber ultra systems at 780 and 1050nm.
