Ultra-compact widely tunable dual-wavelength fiber-based sources for CARS and SRS imaging

Abstract

Fiber-based laser sources for Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy and Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy (SRS) have been successfully used for label-free bio-imaging in the last few years. However, these systems were limited so far to a few experimental setups in university labs. We present the first extremely compact commercially available dual-wavelength source for CARS and SRS. With a foot-print of <30cm x 50cm this alignment-free turn-key system offers tuning over the highly relevant frequency range from <500cm^-1 up to 5000cm^-1 within a few seconds without any detrimental thermal effects. The spectral width of the signals is <10cm^-1 enabling a multitude of applications.