Stimulated Raman scattering microscopy by Nyquist modulation of a two-branch ultrafast fiber source

Opt Lett. 2016 Aug 15;41(16):3731-4. doi: 10.1364/OL.41.003731.

Abstract

A highly stable setup for stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy is presented. It is based on a two-branch femtosecond Er:fiber laser operating at a 40 MHz repetition rate. One of the outputs is directly modulated at the Nyquist frequency with an integrated electro-optic modulator (EOM). This compact source combines a jitter-free pulse synchronization with a broad tunability and allows for shot-noise limited SRS detection. The performance of the SRS microscope is illustrated with measurements on samples from material science and cell biology.