Advanced laser physics and nonlinear optics: pushing the limits of ultrashort pulse laser sources and nonlinear imaging techniques

极短（10^-13 - 10^-15秒）脉冲激光与物质的相互作用可以产生各种光信号。这些次级信号中的每一个（或其单独的属性，如颜色、强度、方向性、时间行为等）都可以用来构建样品的高分辨率图像。多种信号可以由样品本身直接产生，也可以通过添加称为标签的额外化学物质产生。更重要的是，每一个产生的信号都携带着关于样品结构、结构组织、化学成分或生化特性的特定信息。因此，这种基于激光的成像技术在与活细胞或组织一起使用时，在许多疾病发展的早期阶段具有快速、敏感和可靠诊断的巨大潜力。这可以显著提高医疗效率和效果。不幸的是，这些诊断工具在实际临床环境中的渗透受到高成本和产生短脉冲激光的激光源性能差的阻碍。此外，许多化学标签的毒性阻止了它们与人类的使用。为了解决这些具有挑战性的因素，拟议的研究计划将开发(a)新的创新和具有成本效益的激光源；(b)一种先进的激光成像技术，不需要化学标签，可以同时提供样品几种不同性质的信息。这些仪器将由9名研究生（6名博士和3名硕士）在5年的时间内开发。学生们将接受激光、成像和光谱技术、光学材料、探测器、电子和高精度机械、数据采集和分析方面的尖端培训。通过对本科生论文、暑期项目和合作研究活动的监督，还将向本科、研究生和研究生层次的高素质人才提供培训。拟议研究计划产生的新知识将使基于激光的生物医学诊断技术更加强大、高效、可靠、经济，因此，在临床应用方面更加成熟和有吸引力。

Interaction of extremely short (10^-13 - 10^-15 s) pulses of laser light with matter can produce various optical signals. Each of these secondary signals (or their individual properties such as colour, intensity, directionality, temporal behaviour, etc.) can be used to construct a high resolution image of a sample. Multiple signals can be produced directly by the sample itself or by adding additional chemicals that are called labels. More importantly, each of the generated signals carries specific information about the sample's structure, its structural organization, chemical composition or biochemical properties. Therefore, such laser based imaging technologies when used with live cells or tissues have enormous potential for rapid, sensitive and reliable diagnostics of many diseases at their very early stages of development. This can significantly improve efficiency and outcomes of medical treatments. Unfortunately, penetration of these diagnostic tools into real clinical environment is hampered by the high cost and poor performance of laser sources that produce short pulses of laser light. In addition, toxicity of many chemical labels precludes their use with humans. To address these challenging factors the proposed research program will develop (a) new innovative and cost-effective laser sources; and (b) an advanced laser imaging technique that does not require chemical labels and can simultaneously provide information about several different properties of a sample. These instruments will be developed by 9 graduate students (6 PhDs and 3 MScs) over a 5 year period. The students will receive cutting-edge training in laser, imaging and spectroscopy technologies, optical materials, detector, electronics and high-precision mechanics, data acquisition and analysis. The training will be also offered to highly qualified personnel at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels through supervision of undergraduate thesis and summer projects and collaborative research activities. The new knowledge generated by the proposed research program will make laser-based biomedical diagnostic techniques more powerful, efficient, reliable, cost-effective, and therefore, more mature and attractive for clinical applications.