Patent ID: 7894131
Filing Date: 2011-02-22
Classification: G02B,G02F

Abstract:
1. A laser microscope comprising: a laser light source configured to emit ultrashort-pulsed laser light; an objective lens adapted to face a specimen; a pulse expander which comprises an optical system producing negative dispersion, and which is configured to expand the ultrashort-pulsed laser light emitted from the laser light source and adjust an amount of negative dispersion in order to minimize a pulse width of the ultrashort-pulsed laser light exiting the objective lens; a large-diameter single-mode fiber configured to transmit the ultrashort-pulsed laser light expanded by the pulse expander; a pulse compressor which comprises one of: (i) an isotropic, high-refractive-index, positive-dispersion material, and (ii) an anisotropic, high-refractive-index, positive-dispersion material, and which is configured to compress the ultrashort-pulsed laser light transmitted by the single-mode fiber; and a microscope main body configured to irradiate the specimen with the ultrashort-pulsed laser light compressed by passing through the pulse compressor; wherein the single-mode fiber has a core diameter that is at least equal to a minimum effective core diameter set according to the following equations: where D A λ is a wavelength; n a is a constant; L is a length of the single-mode fiber; P P ν is a repetition frequency; Δt Δt GDD GDD Δt P a is determined by the following equations: where γ is a nonlinear constant; and L