Performance of serial time-encoded amplified microscope

Serial time-encoded amplified microscopy (STEAM) is an entirely new imaging modality that enables ultrafast continuous real-time imaging with high sensitivity. By means of optical image amplification, STEAM overcomes the fundamental tradeoff between sensitivity and speed that affects virtually all optical imaging systems. Unlike the conventional microscope systems, the performance of STEAM depends not only on the lenses, but also on the properties of other components that are unique to STEAM, namely the spatial disperser, the group velocity dispersion element, and the back-end electronic digitizer. In this paper, we present an analysis that shows how these considerations affect the spatial resolution, and how they create a trade-off between the number of pixels and the frame rate of the STEAM imager. We also quantify how STEAM’s optical image amplification feature improves the imaging sensitivity. These analyses not only provide valuable insight into the operation of STEAM technology but also serve as a blue print for implementation and optimization of this new imaging technology. ©2010 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: (180.0180) Microscopy; (170.0180) Imaging systems References and links 1. J. B. Pawley, ed., Handbook of biological confocal microscopy, 3rd ed., Springer (2006). 2. S. W. Hell, “Microscopy and its focal switch,” Nat. Methods 6(1), 24–32 (2009). 3. E. Betzig, G. H. Patterson, R. Sougrat, O. W. Lindwasser, S. Olenych, J. S. Bonifacino, M. W. Davidson, J. Lippincott-Schwartz, and H. F. Hess, “Imaging intracellular fluorescent proteins at nanometer resolution,” Science 313(5793), 1642–1645 (2006). 4. B. Huang, W. Wang, M. Bates, and X. Zhuang, “Three-dimensional super-resolution imaging by stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy,” Science 319(5864), 810–813 (2008). 5. H. R. Petty, “Spatiotemporal chemical dynamics in living cells: from information trafficking to cell physiology,” Biosystems 83(2–3), 217–224 (2004). 6. H. R. Petty, “High speed microscopy,” Opt. Photonics News, 34–40 (2004). 7. J. V. Watson, Introduction to flow cytometry, (Cambridge Univ. Press, Oxford, U. K. 2004). 8. J. R. Janesick, Scientific Charge-Coupled Devices, (SPIE Publications, 2001). 9. G. C. Holst, and T. S. Lomheim, CMOS/CCD Sensors and Camera Systems, SPIE-International Society for Optical Engine (2007). 10. K. Goda, K. K. Tsia, and B. Jalali, “Amplified dispersive Fourier-transform imaging for ultrafast displacement sensing and barcode reading,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 93(13), 131109 (2008). 11. K. Goda, K. K. Tsia, and B. Jalali, “Serial time-encoded amplified imaging for real-time observation of fast dynamic phenomena,” Nature 458(7242), 1145–1149 (2009). 12. J. Chou, O. Boyraz, D. Solli, and B. Jalali, “Femtosecond real-time single-shot digitizer,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 91(16), 161105 (2007). 13. D. R. Solli, J. Chou, and B. Jalali, “Amplified wavelength-time transformation for real-time spectroscopy,” Nat. Photonics 2(1), 48–51 (2008). 14. J. Chou, D. R. Solli, and B. Jalali, “Real-time spectroscopy with subgigahertz resolution using amplified dispersive Fourier transformation,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 92(11), 111102 (2008). 15. K. Goda, D. R. Solli, K. K. Tsia, and B. Jalali, “Theory of amplified dispersive Fourier transformation,” Phys. Rev. A 80(4), 043821 (2009). #125010 $15.00 USD Received 4 Mar 2010; revised 23 Mar 2010; accepted 29 Mar 2010; published 28 Apr 2010 (C) 2010 OSA 10 May 2010 / Vol. 18, No. 10 / OPTICS EXPRESS 10016 16. G. J. Tearney, M. Shishkov, and B. E. Bouma, “Spectrally encoded miniature endoscopy,” Opt. Lett. 27(6), 412– 414 (2002). 17. C. Pitris, B. Bouma, M. Shiskov, and G. Tearney, “A GRISM-based probe for spectrally encoded confocal microscopy,” Opt. Express 11(2), 120–124 (2003). 18. Z. Yaqoob, and N. A. Riza, “Eye-safe passive-optics no-moving parts barcode scanners,” IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 16(3), 954–956 (2004). 19. S. Xiao, A. M. Weiner, and C. Lin, “A dispersion law for virtually-imaged phased-array spectral dispersers based on paraxial-wave theory,” IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 40(4), 420–426 (2004). 20. S. A. Diddams, L. Hollberg, and V. Mbele, “Molecular fingerprinting with the resolved modes of a femtosecond laser frequency comb,” Nature 445(7128), 627–630 (2007). 21. S. Xiao, and A. M. Weiner, “2-D wavelength demultiplexer with potential for >/= 1000 channels in the C-band,” Opt. Express 12(13), 2895–2902 (2004). 22. K. K. Tsia, K. Goda, D. Capewell, and B. Jalali, “Simultaneous mechanical-scan-free confocal microscopy and laser microsurgery,” Opt. Lett. 34(14), 2099–2101 (2009). 23. Y. Han, and B. Jalali, “Continuous-time time-stretched analog-to-digital converter array implemented using virtual time gating,” IEEE Trans. Circ. Syst. 52(8), 1502–1507 (2005). 24. G. P. Agrawal, Fiber Optic Communication Systems, 3rd Ed., Wiley-Interscience (2002). 25. V. E. Perlin, and H. G. Winful, “On Distributed Raman Amplification for Ultrabroad-Band Long-Haul WDM Systems,” J. Lightwave Technol. 20(3), 409–416 (2002). 26. M. T. Tilli, M. C. Cabrera, A. R. Parrish, K. M. Torre, M. K. Sidawy, A. L. Gallagher, E. Makariou, S. A. Polin, M. C. Liu, and P. A. Furth, “Real-time imaging and characterization of human breast tissue by reflectance confocal microscopy,” J. Biomed. Opt. 12(5), 051901 (2007). 27. A. Vogel, J. Noack, G. Hüttman, and G. Paltauf, “Mechanisms of femtosecond laser nanosurgery of cells and tissues,” Appl. Phys. B 81(8), 1015–1047 (2005). 28. J. V. Watson, Introduction to flow cytometry, Cambridge Univ. Press, Oxford, U. K. (2004). 29. M. Fleisher, “Circulating tumor cells – a new opportunity for therapeutic management of cancer patients,” Clin. Lab. News 34, 10 (2008).