Wide-field real-time broadband CARS microscopy

Non-linear optical (NLO) microscopy techniques like coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) are highly effective tools for label-free vibrational imaging, allowing for chemical analysis of biological samples in their native state. We introduce video-rate wide-field CARS microscopy over a vast field of view (tens of micrometers) to enable real-time analysis of fast biological dynamics with down to few-millisecond time resolution. We generate stable broadband Stokes pulses in a YAG crystal using an amplified ytterbium laser source delivering 260-fs high-energy (μJ-level) pulses in the near-infrared. Our system combines fast and tunable single-wavelength real-time imaging with the acquisition of hypercubes, chemically more information-rich.