Nonlinear optical interference of two successive coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering signals for biological imaging applications

The nonlinear optical interference of two successively generated coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) signals from two different samples placed in series is demonstrated for the imaging performance, in which a collinear phase matching geometry is used. The relative phase of two CARS signals is controlled by a phaseshifting unit made of dispersive glass materials of which the thickness can be precisely varied. The clear interference fringes are observed as the thickness of the phase-shifting unit changes. The interference effect is then utilized to achieve a better quality CARS image of a biological tissue taken from a mouse skin. Placing the tissue in the second sample position and performing raster scans of the laser beams on it, we can acquire a CARS image of higher contrast compared to the normal image obtained without interferometric implementation. (C) 2007 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.