Charming · Components for Highly Advanced time-Resolved fluorescence MIcroscopy based on Nonlinear Glass fibres

The project CHARMING aims at developing compact and fully fibred visible lasers for fluorescencespectroscopy, high resolution confocal microscopy and tryptophan imaging. These applications requirepulsed operation (about 100 ps at repetition rates from 1 to 80 MHz), various wavelengths in the visible(from 515 to 630 nm typically) and in the UV (for tryptophan imaging), high average power (up to 500 mW for high resolution) with a polarisation maintaining fibre delivery when possible.These wavelengths cannot, in most of the cases, be addressed directly. Therefore, in order to respond tothese applications with fibre based solutions different technological building blocks have to be developed.The project CHARMING will focus on the development of semiconductor laser sources in the 1.1 μm to1.2 μm band, Bismuth and Raman amplifiers, pulse gating and wavelength conversion fibre basedsolutions. This last function is certainly the more challenging in the project.Periodically Poled Singlemode Fibres (PPSF) for Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) have beenproven at laboratory scale but breakthrough approaches are required for this technology to be integrated in future systems. Various innovative approaches, in particular the use of Micro-structured Optical Fibres (MOF), will be investigated to convert this promising technology into potential products.SHG and other functions developed in CHARMING will be integrated in gain-switched and modelockedlasers at different wavelengths in the visible. The compatibility of these sources with the requirements of the imaging applications targeted in the project will be demonstrated.Finally, the performances of the devices will be pushed beyond these specifications (in the Watt level)for targeting a broader potential impact (like for instance, applications in micromachining).