High resolution imaging with TM01 laser beams

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Abstract:

<p>We present two optical systems that can transform a Gaussian beam into the lowest-order transverse magnetic laser beam (the so-called TM01 laser beam). When a TM01 laser beam is focused by an objective with a high numerical aperture (NA &gt; 0.9), theory predicts the appearance of a bright central feature at focus; the width of this feature is smaller than that of the focal spot obtained with a Gaussian beam [1,2]. Our goal is to improve the lateral resolution of two-photon microscopy when a TM01 laser beam is used.</p>