CPC G01N 21/6408 (2013.01) [G01N 21/6458 (2013.01); G01N 21/6486 (2013.01); G02B 21/0076 (2013.01); G02B 21/367 (2013.01); G01N 2201/105 (2013.01); H01S 3/005 (2013.01)] | 16 Claims |
1. An imaging system for temporally multiplexed scanned temporal focusing comprising:
a laser module that outputs a laser pulse;
an optical delay module that temporally multiplexes the laser pulse by splitting the laser pulse received from the laser module into a plurality of sub-pulses including at least a first sub-pulse and a second sub-pulse with a time delay between the first sub-pulse and the second sub-pulse based on a combination of a two-photon excitation scheme and a three-photon excitation scheme;
a scanner that controls positioning of focus spots within a target volume by angularly deflecting the first and second sub-pulses;
a spectral dispersion element that spatially disperses the first sub-pulse and the second sub-pulse into their respective spectral components to form a first dispersed sub-pulse and a second dispersed sub-pulse, respectively, with the spectral dispersion element being arranged in a conjugate plane to the target volume;
a telescope that temporally focuses the spectral components of the first sub-pulse and the second sub-pulse, respectively, into the focus spots onto one or more planes in the target volume by imaging one or more spots illuminated on the spectral dispersion element by the first sub-pulse and the second sub-pulse onto the one or more planes in the target volume; and
a photodetector that collects photons generated from the focus spots within the target volume upon excitation by the temporally focused spectral components of the first and second sub-pulses.
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