Moritz Stürmer

Axial scanning in confocal microscopy employing adaptive lenses (CAL)

In this paper we analyze the capability of adaptive lenses to replace mechanical axial scanning in confocal microscopy. The adaptive approach promises to achieve high scan rates in a rather simple implementation. This may open up new applications in biomedical imaging or surface analysis in micro- and nanoelectronics, where currently the axial scan rates and the flexibility at the scan process are the limiting factors. The results show that fast and adaptive axial scanning is possible using electrically tunable lenses but the performance degrades during the scan. This is due to defocus and spherical aberrations introduced to the system by tuning of the adaptive lens. These detune the observation plane away from the best focus which strongly deteriorates the axial resolution by a factor of ~2.4. Introducing balancing aberrations allows addressing these influences. The presented approach is based on the employment of a second adaptive lens, located in the detection path. It enables shifting the observation plane back to the best focus position and thus creating axial scans with homogeneous axial resolution. We present simulated and experimental proof-of-principle results.

Volumetric HiLo microscopy employing an electrically tunable lens.

Electrically tunable lenses exhibit strong potential for fast motion-free axial scanning in a variety of microscopes. However, they also lead to a degradation of the achievable resolution because of aberrations and misalignment between illumination and detection optics that are induced by the scan itself. Additionally, the typically nonlinear relation between actuation voltage and axial displacement leads to over- or under-sampled frame acquisition in most microscopic techniques because of their static depth-of-field. To overcome these limitations, we present an Adaptive-Lens-High-and-Low-frequency (AL-HiLo) microscope that enables volumetric measurements employing an electrically tunable lens. By using speckle-patterned illumination, we ensure stability against aberrations of the electrically tunable lens. Its depth-of-field can be adjusted a-posteriori and hence enables to create flexible scans, which compensates for irregular axial measurement positions. The adaptive HiLo microscope provides an axial scanning range of 1 mm with an axial resolution of about 4 μm and sub-micron lateral resolution over the full scanning range. Proof of concept measurements at home-built specimens as well as zebrafish embryos with reporter gene-driven fluorescence in the thyroid gland are shown.

Variable optofluidic slit aperture

The shape of liquid interfaces can be precisely controlled using electrowetting, an actuation mechanism which has been widely used for tunable optofluidic micro-optical components such as lenses or irises. We have expanded the considerable flexibility inherent in electrowetting actuation to realize a variable optofluidic slit, a tunable and reconfigurable two-dimensional aperture with no mechanically moving parts. This optofluidic slit is formed by precisely controlled movement of the liquid interfaces of two highly opaque ink droplets. The 1.5 mm long slit aperture, with controllably variable discrete widths down to 45 µm, may be scanned across a length of 1.5 mm with switching times between adjacent slit positions of less than 120 ms. In addition, for a fixed slit aperture position, the width may be tuned to a minimum of 3 µm with high uniformity and linearity over the entire slit length. This compact, purely fluidic device offers an electrically controlled aperture tuning range not achievable with extant mechanical alternatives of a similar size.

A Compact, Large-Aperture Tunable Lens with Adaptive Spherical Correction

In this paper, we present the proof of concept a very fast adaptive glass membrane lens with a large aperture/diameter ratio, spherical aberration correction and integrated actuation. The membrane is directly deformed using two piezo actuators that can tune the focal length and the conical parameter. This operating principle allows for a usable aperture of the whole membrane diameter. Together with the efficient actuation mechanism, the aperture is around 2/3 of the total system diameter -- at a thickness of less than 2mm. The response time is a few milliseconds at 12mm aperture, which is fast compared to similar systems.

Bio-inspired variable imaging system simplified to the essentials: modelling accommodation and gaze movement

A combination of an aspherical hybrid diffractive-refractive lens with a flexible fluidic membrane lens allows the implementation of a light sensitive and wide-aperture optical system with variable focus. This approach is comparable to the vertebrate eye in air, in which the cornea offers a strong optical power and the flexible crystalline lens is used for accommodation. Also following the natural model of the human eye, the decay of image quality with increasing field position is compensated, in the optical system presented here, by successively addressing different tilting angles which mimics saccadic eye-movements. The optical design and the instrumental implementation are presented and discussed, and the working principle is demonstrated.

Focusing mirror with tunable eccentricity

We present a new kind of varifocal mirror with independently adjustable curvatures in the major directions. For actuation we use two stacked piezo bending actuators with crossed in-plane polarization. This mirror can be used for example as an off-axis focusing device with tunable focal length and compensation for a variable angle of incidence or for coma correction. We demonstrate the prototype of such a mirror and characterize the mechanical deflection, as well as the focusing capabilities.

Dual-mode spectral imaging system employing a focus variable lens

Abstract This paper presents a dual-mode spectral imaging system, which allows switching between pure lateral imaging and the spectrally resolved recording of spatial information. The optical system was equipped with tunable functionalities in order to achieve high flexibility, cover a wide range of object distances, and address extended field angles. A fluidic membrane lens was used for the variable focus, and the recording of the laterally extended scene was made possible by successively adjusting the different tilting angles to the different object positions. The capability and performance of the spectral imaging system were assessed using various test scenes, with different aimed field positions and changing object distances.

Ultra-compact, large-aperture solid state adaptive lens with aspherical correction

We report on a solid state adaptive lens based on an elastomer lens body and an active glass-piezo composite membrane. In contrast to existing lenses with integrated actuation, this allows for the control of the aspherical behavior and has a large aperture of 6.25 mm at 7.9 mm outer diameter (9 mm including packaging). Using a polymer instead of a fluid as a refractive medium gives a good robustness and allows for a simple layout and fabrication. Depending on the choice of polymer, we find a short response time or a large focal range of 21 dpt.

Automatic correction of diffraction pattern shift in a pushbroom hyperspectral imager with a piezoelectric internal line-scanning unit

Pushbroom hyperspectral imaging systems require relative motion with respect to the target for hyperspectral data acquisition by means of spatial scanning, which increases the equipment cost and limits the application scenarios. We address this by introducing a pushbroom system with an internal line-scanning unit consisting of a slit aperture mounted on a piezoelectric linear motor. Different slit positions have tilted incidence angles at the grating, resulting in shifts of diffraction patterns relative to the imaging sensor. We demonstrate a method to compensate this shift by using a rotating arm controlled by a stepper motor to reposition the camera based on slit position.

Effects of axial scanning in confocal microscopy employing adaptive lenses (CAL)

We analyze axial scanning in Confocal microscopy based on Adaptive Lenses (CAL). A tunable lens located in the illumination path of a confocal setup enables scanning the focus position by applying an electrical voltage. This opens up the possibility to replace mechanical axial scanning which is commonly used. In our proof-of-principle experiment, we demonstrate a tuning range of about 380 μm. The range can easily be extended by using the whole possible tuning range. During the scan the axial resolution degrades by a factor of about 2.3. The deterioration is introduced by aberrations that strongly depend on the scanning process. Therefore a second lens is located in the detection path of the CAL setup to balance the aberration effects. Both experiments and simulations show that this approach allows creating a homogeneous axial resolution throughout the scan. This is at the cost of tuning range which halves to about 200 μm. The lateral resolution is not noticeably affected and amounts to 500 nm.