Ultrafast OPO provides critical wavelengths for deep-tissue imaging

November 12, 2007, Santa Clara, CA--The new Chameleon optical parametric oscillator (OPO) from Coherent Inc. enables gap-free tuning from 680 to 1580 nm, making it the ideal ultrafast source for deep-tissue imaging at critical long wavelengths. This wavelength range is optimal for exciting long-wavelength fluorophores and minimizing scatter, enabling imaging of thicker samples--including live tissue--using multiphoton-excitation microscopy.

The Chameleon OPO uses innovative periodically poled crystal technology and is designed as a turnkey accessory compatible with any of Coherent's suite of Chameleon tunable one-box ultrafast lasers. These lasers provide rapid tuning between 680 and 1080 nm, which is now extended seamlessly to 1580 nm. In contrast, older lasers do not provide access to the so-called "titanium:sapphire wavelength gap" around 1100 nm, which necessitates the use of complex frequency-mixing schemes.

The Chameleon family is the only series of ultrafast lasers designed from the ground up to maximize the potential of multiphoton microscopy, including CARS, and three-photon imaging. Chameleon lasers also feature high reliability and hands-free sealed operation, in part due to their use of the long-lived Verdi pump laser.