Patent ID: 8432541

Claim:
An optical system for a flow cytometer with an interrogation zone, the system comprising: a first optical stage including: a first light source that creates a first beam of a first wavelength; a first collimating element that collimates the first beam from the first light source; a second light source that creates a second beam of a second wavelength, which is different than the first wavelength; a second collimating element that collimates the second beam from the second light source; a first beam combining element that combines the collimated beams of the first and second collimating elements to form a combined collimated beam that is multichromatic; and a second optical stage including: a third light source that creates a third beam of a third wavelength, which is different than the first and second wavelengths; a third collimating element that collimates the third beam from the third light source; and a second beam combining element that combines the collimated beam of the third collimating element and the combined collimated beam to form an augmented combined beam; a bracket including an adjustable mount for the first light source and at least one of the second and third light sources, wherein the bracket allows for alignment of at least one of the second and third light sources relative to the first light source, and wherein the adjustable mount is adjustable along two axes; and a focusing element that focuses the augmented combined beam to a single point.