High-frequency H-PDLC Optical Chopper for Frequency Division Multiplexing Fluorescence Confocal Microscope System

摘要

The optical chopper array based on Holographic Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (H-PDLC) working at high frequencies, for example 1KHz, 2KHz, and its application in an improved Frequency Division Multiplexed Fluorescence Confocal Microscope (FDMFCM) system are reported in this article. The system is a combination of the confocal microscopy and the frequency division multiplexing technique. Taking advantages of the optical chopper array based on H-PDLC that avoids mechanical movements, the FDMFCM system is able to obtain better Signal-Noise Ratio (SNR), smaller volume, more independent channels and more efficient scanning. What's more, the FDMCFM maintained the high special resolution ability and realized faster temporal resolution than pervious system. Using the proposed device, the FDMFCM system conducts successful parallel detection of rat neural cells. Fluorescence intensity signals from two different points on the specimen, which represent concentration of certain kind of proteins in the sample cells, are achieved. The experimental results show that the proposed H-PDLC optical chopper array has feasibility in FDMFCM system, which owes to its unique characteristics such as fast response, simple fabrication and lower consumption etc. With the development of H-PDLC based devices, there will be prospective in upgrading FDMFCM system's performance in the biomedical area.