Time-decorrelated multifocal array for multiphoton microscopy and micromachining

We demonstrate a temporally decorrelated, multifocal multiphoton microscope . Using an etalon, we split the 800-nm light from either an ultrashort-puls ed Ti:Al2O3 oscillator or a Ti:Al2O3 regenerative amplifier into an array o f beamlets that are delayed with respect to one another in time. The collim ated beams overlap at slightly different input angles at the entrance pupil of a 1.25-numerical aperture oil-immersion objective to produce an array o f foci that are temporally decorrelated at the focal plane of the objective . The temporal decorrelation eliminates any interference among the foci and permits multifocal multiphoton imaging with the resolution of single-point illumination. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America. OCIS codes: 180.0180, 1 80.6900, 180.2520.