FIBEROPTIC LASER-SCANNING CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE SUITABLE FOR FLUORESCENCE IMAGING

A fiber-optic laser scanning confocal microscope that utilizes a singl e-mode optical fiber as both the source and the detection aperture is described. The design of a compact, portable scanning head that is rob ust in alignment and fits simply to standard light microscopes is pres ented. Resolution performance and imaging capability are demonstrated for several objective lenses in both reflectance and fluorescence mode s of operation. This microscope achieves performance that is comparabl e with that of conventional bulk optical laser scanning confocal micro scopes while offering flexibility in usage forbidden to such instrumen ts.