Patent ID: 11965831
Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, A BODY CORPORATE
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  A | IPC G

Claim 14:
15. An optical system configured to perform the method of claim 1, the optical system comprising:
a polarization-maintaining optical fiber having a central mode and one or more peripheral modes each having a minimum of intensity substantially overlapping the central mode of the polarization-maintaining optical fiber;
a source of excitation radiation coupled to cause propagation of excitation radiation of the fluorescence excitation wavelength in the central mode of the polarization-maintaining optical fiber;
a source of depletion radiation of the depletion wavelength coupled to cause propagation of depletion radiation substantially temporally incoherently in one or more of the peripheral modes of the polarization-maintaining optical fiber;
the polarization-maintaining optical fiber being configured to deliver the excitation radiation and the depletion radiation from the optical fiber to the object to be imaged, with the excitation radiation forming a spot having a substantially centrally-disposed intensity maximum and depletion radiation forming an annular ring about the excitation radiation and substantially overlapping the periphery of the excitation radiation spot without substantially overlapping the centrally-disposed intensity maximum of the excitation radiation spot, wherein the excitation radiation causes emission radiation of the fluorescence emission wavelength from the object at the centrally-disposed intensity maximum of the spot, and the depletion radiation substantially prevents emission of radiation of the fluorescence emission wavelength in the region of the annular depletion radiation.