SBIR Phase I: Fast Focus and Zoom in Microscopy

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目将使用由微电子机械系统(MEMS)镜组成的光学机械系统来实现快速聚焦和放大显微镜。与共焦和多光子显微镜的传统方法相比，该显微镜附件将在广域显微镜中实现快速3D成像，并将聚焦和变焦速度提高100倍。该技术允许样品台和物镜转台在实验过程中保持静止。它将增加吞吐量，保存敏感样本，能够观察动态事件，并减少培训时间。这项创新将促进在理解体内和体外显微镜中发生的动态反应方面的重大发现。最初的目标市场估计毛收入为7500万美元。该技术还有望通过提供高速和灵活的焦点控制，使用于制造或机器视觉的3D成像系统、光学相干层析成像和内窥镜成像系统受益。虽然MEMS在移动平台和汽车行业的运动传感中无处不在，但它们还没有同样程度地渗透到其他市场或成像系统。随着光学MEMS器件制造和性能的最新进步，将这种类型的技术引入其他平台可以在非传统领域引发该技术的更大商业化。该项目的智能优点首先是展示了一种新型的光学机械系统，该系统带有MEMS反射镜，可以独立控制显微镜的聚焦和变焦。MEMS反射镜是变焦元件的一种。它们保持静止不动，而其电压控制、可配置的表面形状允许快速对焦和相应的球差校正。快速MEMS反射镜具有2倍变焦的足够直径和显著的对焦能力，以前从未在文献或商业中得到证明。通过为该项目生产和表征快速、大直径的MEMS反射镜，将提高对各种焦点元件的认识。该项目还将继续定义标准光学设计实践，以最大限度地利用可变焦距元件，因为传统的光学分析假设固定焦距透镜或反射镜。该项目的目标有三个：1)制造超过40%成品率的大直径MEMS反射镜，2)表征其聚焦范围和动态行为，以及3)在适合作为显微镜附加组件的聚焦和变焦系统中展示它们。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will enable fast focusing and zoom in microscopy with an optomechanical system consisting of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) mirrors. The microscope add-on will enable fast 3D imaging in wide-field microscopes and increase focusing and zoom speeds by 100x when compared with conventional methods in confocal and multiphoton microscopy. The technology allows the sample stage and objective lens turret to remain stationary during experiments. It will increase throughput, preserve sensitive samples, enable observation of dynamic events, and reduce training time. The innovation will spur significant discovery in understanding dynamic reactions that occur in in vivo and in vitro microscopy. The initial target market has an estimated gross revenue of $75M. The technology also promises to benefit 3D imaging systems for manufacturing or machine vision, optical coherence tomography, and endoscopic imaging systems by providing high speed and agile focus control. While MEMS are ubiquitous in mobile platforms and the automotive industry for motion sensing, they have not yet permeated other markets or imaging systems to the same extent. With recent advances in fabrication and performance of optical MEMS devices, bringing this type of technology to other platforms can spark greater commercialization of the technology in non-traditional areas. The intellectual merit of this project is foremost the demonstration of a novel optomechanical system with MEMS mirrors for independent control of focusing and zoom in microscopy. MEMS mirrors are a type of varifocus element. They remain stationary while their voltage-controlled, configurable surface shapes allow for fast focusing and attendant correction of spherical aberration. Fast MEMS mirrors, with sufficient diameters for 2x zoom and significant focusing capability, have not previously been demonstrated in literature or commercially. By producing and characterizing fast, large-diameter MEMS mirrors for this project, knowledge of varifocus elements will be advanced. This project will also continue to define standard optical design practices to best utilize varifocus elements, since traditional optical analyses assume fixed focal length lenses or mirrors. The project objectives are three-fold: 1) fabricate large-diameter MEMS mirrors with greater than 40% yield, 2) characterize their focusing range and dynamic behavior, and 3) demonstrate them in a focus and zoom system suitable as a microscopy add-on component.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.