Beam Shaping on a Fluorescent On-Chip Imaging System

Abstract

The fluorescent on-chip imaging system differs from a conventional fluorescent microscope in terms of the imaging method because the sample is directly placed on the imaging sensor (i.e., charge-coupled device (CCD)). While this imaging modality presents several advantages, including a wide field of view and rapid scanning speed, it can be difficult to detect certain particles in dense and scattering environments, such as whole blood and tissue. These difficulties lead to a decreased signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the captured images, influenced by both the medium's light-transmitting capability and the excitation techniques used. In this paper, we quantitatively examine the effect of beam shaping techniques on a fluorescent on-chip imaging system from the SNR perspective. An experimental comparison is conducted between a Gaussian beam and plane-wave illumination generated by a novel phase modulation schema using our developed imaging platform. The results indicate that the Gaussian beam produces higher SNR images than plane waves when detecting fluorescent particles in a microchannel. Gaussian beam's higher energy confinement ability enhances the image quality of on-chip fluorescent imaging systems, particularly involving scattering-like medium limitations.