METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OBSERVING FLUORESCENT SAMPLE USING MULTIPHOTON EXCITATION

Japanese Patent JP3829749

B2

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fluorescent observing apparatus capable of continuously observing a sample by simultaneously applying recuperation pulses and multiphoton exciting observation pulses to the sample. SOLUTION: Pulses of white light with a continuous spectrum generated by ultra-short pulses of light are spectroscopically analyzed, and only both light with a wavelength for recuperating fluorescence and light with a multiphoton exciting wavelength for observing a fluorescent material to be targeted are selected from the spectroscopically analyzed light. Then, optical paths with lengths different to each other are made up for the both lights, thereby generating a prescribed time difference between them, and recuperation/ observation pulses 20, in which light having both wavelengths with the time difference are present, are generated by composing the both lights by using a lightwave combining device. Therefore, continuous observation of the fluorescence from the sample can be carried out.