Resolution Below 50 nm

Picoquant has released a STED (stimulated emission depletion) add-on for the time-resolved confocal microscope Microtime 200.

This extension allows the microscope to perform measurements that break the diffraction limit of light reaching lateral resolutions below 50 nm. Excitation and STED laser are first coupled through a common fiber to ensure perfect alignment and shape of the beams. An optical element then changes the laser focus to the required donut-shape, while leaving the excitation laser unaffected. This implementation makes spatial alignment of the two laser beams unnecessary. Gated STED in which the excitation laser and detection is pulsed and synchronized and the STED depletion is continuous is also supported to enhance resolution in images even more.