Multicolor stimulated Raman scattering microscopy with a rapidly tunable optical parametric oscillator

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy allows label-free chemical imaging based on vibrational spectroscopy. Narrowband excitation with picosecond lasers creates the highest signal levels and enables imaging speeds up to video-rate, but it sacrifices chemical specificity in samples with overlapping bands compared to broadband (multiplex) excitation. We develop a rapidly tunable picosecond optical parametric oscillator with an electro-optical tunable Lyot filter, and demonstrate multicolor SRS microscopy with synchronized line-by-line wavelength tuning to avoid spectral artifacts due to sample movement. We show sensitive imaging of three different kinds of polymer beads and live HeLa cells with moving intracellular lipid droplets. (C) 2013 Optical Society of America