Multimodal microscopy through optimal integration of wide-field and focused-beam laser illumination*

Microscopy can be largely classified into two groups according to how light illuminates specimen: 'wide-field' or 'focused-beam' illumination microscopy. The two microscopy modalities are often integrated into the same instrument, especially for the purpose of combining optical tweezers and fluorescence imaging, with typically employing separate lasers for the two illumination schemes. We have developed a new microscope platform that enables operation of the same laser for the both modalities interchangeably or simultaneously in a way scalable to multiple lasers. In this talk, I will describe the design of the instrument and its application to the multimodal imaging and spectroscopy of biological systems.