IMPROVING UV AND VIOLET SOURCES OF CYTOMETRY

在第一阶段的工作中创建的紧凑，高效，高度稳定的全固态紫外激光源的性能，在初步的细胞术和共聚焦显微镜评估研究中得到了表征，将进一步发展以获得更高的功率和更短的波长。这将允许该源在更广泛的应用类别中使用，包括使用更短波长染料的细胞计数和更高通量的应用，如细胞分选和DNA分析。最近对这种基本激光技术的扩展有望制造出具有极短脉冲和高重复率的实用新型激光源。这可能成为研究和开发商业仪器的重要工具，这些仪器需要双光子激发的高峰值功率，例如双光子显微镜和双光子3D微加工，以及新的光学成像诊断。第二阶段的工作重点是在细胞术、紫外和双光子显微镜中的应用，人们相信这些新的激光源可能催化新技术的发展，使这些重要但昂贵的诊断更广泛地得到应用。拟议的商业应用：在包括激光诱导荧光在内的许多应用中，这种激光源似乎有可能取代气体放电激光器，从而大大降低需要近紫外波长强光的生物技术仪器的成本、尺寸和复杂性。深红色和紫外线激光源可以优雅地集成到细胞仪和现代显微镜中，具有重要的商业市场。

The performance of the compact, efficient, highly stable all solid-state ultraviolet laser source created in the Phase I effort , where it was characterized in preliminary cytometry and confocal microscopy evaluation studies, will be further developed to obtain higher power and shorter wavelength. This will permit the source to be of use in a broader class of applications including cytometry that uses shorter wavelength dyes and higher throughput applications such as cell sorting and DNA analysis. A recent extension of this basic laser technology promises to make practical new laser sources that have very short pulses and high repetition rates. This could become an important, if not an enabling, tool for research and for development of commercial instruments that require high peak power for two-photon excitation, such as two-photon microscopy and two-photon 3D microfabrication, and for new optical imaging diagnostics. The proposed Phase II work focuses on applications in cytometry and UV and two-photon microscopy where it is believed that these new laser sources might catalyze the development of new techniques and make these important but expensive diagnostics more widely available. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: It appears likely that such laser sources will be able to replace gas discharge lasers in a host of applications, including laser induced fluorescence, substantially reducing the cost, size and complexity of biotechnology instrumentation that requires intense light at near ultraviolet wavelengths. Significant commercial markets exist for deep red and ultraviolet laser sources that can be gracefully integrated into cytometers and modern microscopes.