Illumination source for structured illumination microscopy

• Main Author: Moertelmaier, Manuel
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 14.07.2020
• Subjects: DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS, THE OPTICAL OPERATION OF WHICH ISMODIFIED BY CHANGING THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIUM OF THEDEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF THE INTENSITY,COLOUR, PHASE, POLARISATION OR DIRECTION OF LIGHT, e.g.SWITCHING, GATING, MODULATING OR DEMODULATING; FREQUENCY-CHANGING; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS; OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICS; PHYSICS; TECHNIQUES OR PROCEDURES FOR THE OPERATION THEREOF

An illumination system and a method for operating an illumination system is disclosed. The illumination system includes a generator spatial light modulator, first and second optical systems and a controller. The generator spatial light modulator is positioned to receive an incident light beam and adapted to generate first and second coherent light beams, each beam being characterized by a phase and a first light beam optical axis in a plane containing the first and second coherent light beams. The first optical system images light leaving the generator spatial light modulator on a modulator spatial light modulator that alters the phase of one of the first and second coherent light beams to generate a relative phase difference. The second optical system that images light leaving the modulator spatial light modulator onto a sample to be illuminated. The controller causes the relative phase difference to cycle through a plurality of different phase-difference values.