Award winning ultrafast laser capable of adaptive pulse self-compression

01 May 2012

femtoAdaptiv™: the first ultrafast laser capable of adaptive pulse self-compression that delivers ultrashort (sub-10 fs) pulses at the focal plane of a microscope objective and has applications in biomedical imaging, metrology, chemical sensing, and fundamental research.

Since multiphoton microscopy was first demonstrated in 1990, it has been known that lasers with shorter pulses yield brighter images and cause less thermal damage; however, laser companies are yet to produce a source capable of delivering ultrashort (sub-10 fs) transform-limited laser pulses at the focal plane of a microscope objective. Ideally, a stable broadband laser source would need to be seamlessly coupled to a computer controller that automatically measures and pre-chirps the output to deliver transform-limited pulses at the microscope imaging plane. To address this, BioPhotonic Solutions, Inc., in close partnership with VENTEON Laser Technologies GmbH, developed femtoAdaptiv, the first ultrafast laser capable of adaptive pulse self- compression.

The femtoAdaptiv can control the output center wavelength (from 650 to 1050 nm) and pulse duration (from 5 to 500 fs) in a few milliseconds without moving parts. It delivers order-of-magnitude shorter laser pulses, and therefore brighter images, when the system is used for multiphoton imaging modalities. Furthermore, the built-in pulse shaping capabilities will allow the implementation of additional imaging techniques, such as single-beam CARS or SRS micro-spectroscopy, without requiring an additional laser.

Possible applications of the femtoAdaptiv include biomedical imaging, optical coherence tomography and metrology in academic research and development laboratories. The laser can be used as a seed laser and integrated with an amplifier to generate intense sub-10fs pulses to broaden its applications to areas such as ultra-broad-bandwidth terahertz spectroscopy, sensing of chemical and biological warfare agents or explosives, and attosecond science. For further information please visit www.biophotonicsolutions.com/femtoAdaptiv.php

"We are very pleased the femtoAdaptiv has been acknowledged in the industry as a breakthrough innovation," said Marcos Dantus, President and CEO of BioPhotonic Solutions. "This integrated system was designed to provide maximum versatility and performance while eliminating mechanical adjustments. We are pleased to offer this new adaptive technology to our customers. Thank you to CLEO and Laser Focus World for recognizing us with this honor."

The femtoAdaptiv is the winner of the 2012 CLEO/Laser Focus World Innovation Award.