Posted by
Craig Brideau on
URL: http://confocal-microscopy-list.275.s1.nabble.com/white-light-laser-tp7590046p7590048.html
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The white light laser (WWL) is a continuum-based fiber laser. These mostly
work, but if anything goes wrong are not easily repairable. The power of
these sources shorter than ~480nm is also very low, and most are unusable
shorter than 450nm, so you often need a separate 405 or 440nm laser if you
really need those wavelengths. The tuning system relies on acoustic
modulation or liquid crystal filtering, which works fairly well, but may
need periodic checkups for tuning frequencies in the case of the AOM or
'twist' in the case of the LC for each wavelength band. I would recommend
keeping your service contract up-to-date if you have one of these systems,
just for peace of mind.
The benefit of such a laser is you have any wavelength from cyan to deep
red, and even into the NIR for some systems, on tap whenever you need it.
You can also adjust the band of some of the filters to narrow or widen the
spectral content. Wider filtering will allow for more power if you are
struggling for signal. For core facilities the WLL provides a great deal
of flexibility in terms of what fluorophores you can address, which is
handy if you have a wide variety of users. It is also beneficial for users
tagging a single sample with a large number of fluorophores as access to
many spectral lines allows you to be very strategic with what colors you
select. However, for a researcher purchasing a system for their own
project, with known fixed fluorophores, the WLL is probably not necessary.
The only alternative technology off hand I am aware of are some of the
semi-tunable gas and solid-state lasers, but I know of no systems that are
commonly available. In the past I have considered a frequency-doubled
continuous-wave Ti:Saph which can access green through the NIR, or the very
rare tunable He:Ne laser, which can access numerous discrete lines from
green to NIR.
Craig
On Mon, Oct 21, 2019 at 7:40 AM Konstantín Levitskiy <
[hidden email]>
wrote:
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>
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>
> Dear Microscopists,
>
> Do you know if any other company, besides Leica, include white light laser
> in their confocals. Or if any other technology can replicate the free
> selection wavelength laser light? On the other hand, what are disadvantages
> of the WLL?
>
> Best regards,
>
> Dr. Konstantín Levitskiy
>
> Servicio de Microscopía
>
> InstitutodeBiomedicinadeSevilla - IBiS
>
> Email: <mailto:
[hidden email]>
[hidden email]
>
> Web: <
http://www.ibis-sevilla.es/> www.ibis-sevilla.es
>
>
>