Femtosecond diode-based time lens laser for multiphoton microscopy.

We demonstrate a near-infrared, femtosecond, diode laser-based source with kW peak power for two-photon microscopy. At a wavelength of 976 nm, the system produces sub-ps pulses operating at a repetition rate of 10 MHz with kilowatt class peak powers suitable for deep tissue two-photon microscopy. The system, integrated with a laser-scanning microscope, images to a depth of 900 µm in a fixed sample of PLP-eGFP labeled mouse brain tissue. This represents a significant development that will lead to more efficient, compact, and accessible laser sources for biomedical imaging.

FPGA-based phase control of acousto-optic modulator Fourier synthesis system through gradient descent phase-locking algorithm.

We present a new application of the stochastic parallel gradient descent (SPGD) algorithm to fast active phase control in a Fourier synthesis system. Pulses (4.9 ns) with an 80 MHz repetition rate are generated by feedback from a single phase-sensitive metric. Phase control is applied via fast current modulation of a tapered amplifier using an SPGD algorithm realized on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The waveforms are maintained by constant active feedback from the FPGA. We also discuss the extension of this technique to many more semiconductor laser emitters in a diode laser array.