High resolution imaging with TM_(01) laser beams

摘要

Using the vectorial diffraction theory established by Richards and Wolf, we demonstrate that the resolution of a two-photon microscope can be improved with a radially polarized TM_(01) laser beam and an interface between dielectrics, instead of the linearly polarized Gaussian beam already used in laser scanning microscopy. To verify the theoretical results, we developed a mode converter producing radially polarized beams and we have integrated it in a commercial two-photon microscope.