Near-infrared optical fiber dodging lighting device and fluorescence imaging system

Abstract

The invention discloses a near-infrared optical fiber dodging lighting device and a fluorescence imaging system. The near-infrared optical fiber dodging lighting device comprises a collimating lens group, a light source, a light source, a light source and a light source, which are sequentially arranged in the direction of an emergent light path of the light source, the fly's-eye lens array group is used for expanding the light beams collimated by the collimating lens group and comprises a first fly's-eye lens array and a second fly's-eye lens array, the first fly's-eye lens array is composed of a plurality of first fly's-eye lens units, and the second fly's-eye lens array is composed of a plurality of second fly's-eye lens units; the plurality of first fly's-eye lens units and the second fly's-eye lens units are biconvex lenses with symmetrical curvatures; and the projection lens group focuses the light beams emitted by the fly-eye lens array group, and uniform square light spots are obtained on an illumination surface. According to the invention, a pair of fly-eye lens arrays is used for dodging light beams which are output by the optical fiber and have Gaussian-like rotational symmetric energy distribution, so that the purpose of obtaining high-light-intensity uniform light spots on an illumination surface by adopting fewer optical elements is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of biofluorescence imaging laser illumination, and in particular to a near-infrared optical fiber uniform light illumination device and a fluorescence imaging system. Background Art

[0002] In bioluminescence imaging, fiber optic output is often used to minimize the effects of thermal noise and mechanical vibration on imaging stability, particularly for super-resolution imaging and live cell observation. Fiber optics can flexibly navigate complex optical platforms (such as the multi-laser beam combining system of a confocal microscope), facilitating the coupling and switching of multi-wavelength excitation light sources.

[0003] Fiber optic light generally emits with a Gaussian-like rotationally symmetric energy distribution, and the excitation light has an energy threshold requirement. To achieve quantification of the fluorescence response on the illuminated surface, a nearly uniform illumination energy density is required. This also needs to match the camera's rectangular imaging area.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the energy distribution of the optical fiber output light spot through optical elements so that a rectangular uniform light spot is achieved on the illuminated surface. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a near-infrared fiber optic uniform light illumination device and a fluorescence imaging system that can solve at least one of the above-mentioned technical problems. The specific solution is as follows:

[0006] According to a specific embodiment disclosed in the present invention, a first aspect of the present invention discloses a near-infrared fiber uniform light illumination device, comprising:

[0007] A collimating lens assembly, used for collimating the light beam emitted by the light source;

[0008] a fly-eye lens array group, configured to expand the light beam collimated by the collimating lens group; the fly-eye lens group comprising: a first fly-eye lens array and a second fly-eye lens array, wherein the first fly-eye lens array is composed of a plurality of first fly-eye lens units, and the second fly-eye lens array is composed of a plurality of second fly-eye lens units, wherein the plurality of first fly-eye lens units and the second fly-eye lens units are biconvex lenses with symmetrical curvatures; the curvature radius of the first fly-eye lens unit on the side facing the light source is 40 mm, and the curvature radius of the first fly-eye lens unit on the side facing away from the light source is -19.5 mm;

[0009] The projection lens group focuses the light beam emitted from the fly-eye lens array group to obtain a uniform square light spot on the illumination surface.

[0010] Optionally, the size of the first fly-eye lens unit in the first fly-eye lens array is 10.5×13.5 mm, and the number is 9*7.

[0011] Optionally, the air gap between the first fly-eye lens array and the second fly-eye lens array is 25.5 mm, and the thickness of the first fly-eye lens array and the second fly-eye lens array are both 7 mm.

[0012] Optionally, the lens material of the first fly-eye lens unit and the second fly-eye lens unit is fused quartz glass.

[0013] Optionally, the curvature radius of the collimating lens group facing the light source is 150 mm, the curvature radius of the collimating lens group facing away from the light source is -150 mm, and the thickness of the collimating lens group is 20 mm.

[0014] Optionally, the distance between the collimating lens group and the light-emitting surface of the light source is 130 mm, and the distance between the collimating lens group and the first fly-eye lens array is 100 mm.

[0015] Optionally, the curvature radius of the projection lens assembly toward the light source is 200 mm, and the curvature radius of the projection lens assembly away from the light source is -200 mm.

[0016] Optionally, the air gap between the projection lens group and the second fly-eye lens array is 60 mm.

[0017] Optionally, the lens material of the projection lens group and the collimating lens group is borosilicate crown glass.

[0018] According to a specific embodiment disclosed in the present invention, a second aspect of the present invention discloses a fluorescence imaging system, characterized in that it includes the above-mentioned near-infrared fiber uniform light illumination device.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the above solution of the embodiment disclosed in the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0020] The present invention uses a pair of fly-eye lens arrays to homogenize a light beam with a Gaussian-like rotationally symmetric energy distribution output from an optical fiber. By designing various parameters of the fly-eye lens array, the goal of achieving a high-intensity, uniform light spot on the illumination surface is achieved using fewer optical components. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The accompanying drawings are incorporated into and constitute a part of the specification, illustrating embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and, together with the specification, explaining the principles of the present disclosure. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and those skilled in the art can derive other drawings based on these drawings without inventive effort. In the drawings:

[0022] Figure 1A schematic diagram of the optical path of a near-infrared optical fiber uniform light illumination device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 Side and front views of the fly-eye lens array provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 An illumination curve diagram of a rectangular light spot in the X direction provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 This is an illumination curve diagram of the rectangular light spot in the Y direction provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Reference numerals:

[0027] 1-light source, 2-collimating lens group, 3-first fly-eye lens array, 4-second fly-eye lens array,

[0028] 5-projection lens group, 6-illumination surface. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] To further clarify the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention, a near-infrared fiber-optic uniform light illumination device disclosed herein will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a portion of the embodiments disclosed herein, and not all of them. All other embodiments derived by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments disclosed herein without inventive effort are intended to fall within the scope of protection disclosed herein.

[0030] The terms used in the examples of this application are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit this application. The singular forms "a," "the," and "the" used in the examples of this application and the appended claims are also intended to include plural forms, and unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, "a plurality" generally includes at least two.

[0031] It should be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein is merely a description of the relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0032] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used to describe in the embodiments of the present application, these should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish. For example, without departing from the scope of the embodiments of the present application, the first may also be referred to as the second, and similarly, the second may also be referred to as the first.

[0033] It should also be noted that the terms "include," "comprises," or any other variations thereof are intended to encompass non-exclusive inclusion, such that a product or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such product or device. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the product or device comprising the element.

[0034] The following is combined with Figure 1-4 Alternative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail.

[0035] In bioluminescence imaging systems, despite the numerous advantages of fiber-optic laser transmission, the physical properties of optical fibers can still lead to uneven light intensity distribution across the illumination surface. Mechanical perturbations (such as piezoelectric ceramic vibrations) can be introduced into the fiber midsection to force mode mixing, improving multimode fiber output uniformity to over 90%. Alternatively, optical shaping components, such as microlens arrays, can be used to convert a Gaussian distribution into a flat-top distribution, or diffractive optical elements can be used for uniform light distribution.

[0036] When using a microlens array for light homogenization, due to the coherence of the laser, different sub-beams may produce interference fringes when superimposed, resulting in uneven fluorescence excitation; the curvature, spacing, and surface errors of the microlenses may also cause sub-beam offset or uneven intensity. Therefore, according to a specific embodiment of the present invention, the present invention provides a near-infrared fiber homogenization illumination device for application scenarios of in vivo imaging illumination in the 900-1700nm band. Figure 1 As shown, it includes: arranged in sequence along the direction of the outgoing light path of the light source:

[0037] A collimating lens group 2, used for collimating the light beam emitted by the light source 1;

[0038] a fly-eye lens array group, for expanding the light beam collimated by the collimating lens group 2; the fly-eye lens group comprises: a first fly-eye lens array 3 and a second fly-eye lens array 4, the first fly-eye lens array 3 being composed of a plurality of first fly-eye lenses, the second fly-eye lens array 4 being composed of a plurality of second fly-eye lenses, the plurality of first fly-eye lenses and the second fly-eye lenses being biconvex lenses with symmetrical curvatures; the curvature radius of the first fly-eye lens facing the light source 1 is 40 mm, and the curvature radius of the first fly-eye lens facing away from the light source 1 is -19.5 mm;

[0039] The projection lens group 5 focuses the light beam emitted from the fly-eye lens array group to obtain a uniform square light spot on the illumination surface 6.

[0040] This embodiment uses only the first fly-eye lens array 3 to split the incident light beam into multiple sub-beams, randomizing the interference patterns of the different sub-beams and reducing overall speckle contrast. The second fly-eye lens array 4 then superimposes the sub-beams on the target surface, achieving uniform illumination through the integration effect. Combined with the projection lens assembly, a square light spot with high intensity uniformity is produced on the illumination surface 6.

[0041] Furthermore, this embodiment avoids adding too many optical elements while achieving high light intensity uniformity. Specific optical element parameter settings are shown in Table 1.

[0042] Table 1 Parameters of each end face of optical components

[0043]

[0044]

[0045] Specifically, the air gap between the first fly-eye lens array 3 and the second fly-eye lens array 2 is 25.5 mm, and the thickness of the first fly-eye lens array 3 and the second fly-eye lens array 2 are both 7 mm.

[0046] Furthermore, each fly-eye lens unit on the side of the first fly-eye lens array 3 and the side of the second fly-eye lens array 4 facing the light source 1 and the illumination surface 6 is a biconvex lens with symmetrical curvature.

[0047] Specifically, the curvature radius of the first fly-eye lens unit toward the light source 1 is 40 mm, and the curvature radius away from the light source 1 is -19.5 mm; the curvature radius of the second fly-eye lens unit toward the light source is 19.5 mm, and the curvature radius away from the light source is -40 mm.

[0048] Furthermore, the lens material of the first fly-eye lens unit and the second fly-eye lens unit is fused silica glass F_SILICA.

[0049] As an optional implementation, the light source is output using fiber-coupled light. Since the optical fiber output spot is typically circular, while camera sensors (such as CMOS) are mostly rectangular, direct illumination results in wasted energy at the edges. Therefore, the individual fly-eye lens units in the first and second fly-eye lens arrays are designed to be arranged in a rectangular pattern to ensure that the output light spot shape matches the sensor.

[0050] In this embodiment, the size of each fly-eye lens unit in the first fly-eye lens array and the second fly-eye lens array is 10.5×13.5 mm, and the number is 9*7. Figure 2 .

[0051] Furthermore, the collimator lens assembly 2 is used to collimate the light beam outputted by the optical fiber. In this embodiment, the collimator lens assembly has a curvature radius of 150 mm on the side facing the light source 1 and a curvature radius of -150 mm on the side facing away from the light source 1. The thickness of the collimator lens is 20 mm.

[0052] As an optional embodiment, the distance between the collimating lens group 2 and the light-emitting surface of the light source 1 is 130 mm, and the distance between the collimating lens group 2 and the first fly-eye lens array is 100 mm. The distance between the light source 1 and the collimating lens group 2 can be adjusted according to the different wavelengths of the light source 1 to ensure the collimation of the light output.

[0053] As an optional implementation, the collimating lens is made of borosilicate crown glass.

[0054] In this embodiment, the projection lens group is a projection objective lens, which focuses and projects the divergent light beam emitted by the fly-eye lens array group onto the illumination surface, forming a square light spot with uniform light intensity distribution on the illumination surface.

[0055] Specifically, the projection lens assembly has a curvature radius of 200 mm measured toward the light source, a curvature radius of -200 mm measured away from the light source, and a thickness of 25 mm. The air gap between the projection lens assembly and the second fly-eye lens array is 60 mm. The illumination surface is 213 mm from the projection lens assembly.

[0056] Figure 3 and Figure 4 The illuminance curves of the rectangular light spot in the X and Y directions provided by the embodiment of the present invention respectively show that the light intensity in the central area is the highest, and the overall irradiance in areas outside the central area is also maintained at a high level, showing good uniformity.

[0057] Example 2

[0058] The present invention also provides device embodiments that are consistent with the above embodiments. The interpretations based on the same name meanings are the same as those of the above embodiments, and have the same technical effects as the above embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0059] The present invention discloses a fluorescence imaging system, comprising a near-infrared optical fiber uniform light illumination device.

[0060] Finally, it should be noted that the various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, with each embodiment focusing on its differences from other embodiments. References to the common and similar parts between the various embodiments will be sufficient. For the systems or devices disclosed in the embodiments, since they correspond to the methods disclosed in the embodiments, their descriptions are relatively simple; for relevant details, refer to the descriptions of the methods.

[0061] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions disclosed in the present invention, rather than to limit the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the various embodiments disclosed in the present invention.

Claims

1. A near-infrared optical fiber uniform light illumination device, characterized in that: Including the following arranged in sequence along the direction of the outgoing light path of the light source: A collimating lens assembly, used for collimating the light beam emitted by the light source; a fly-eye lens array group, used for expanding the light beam collimated by the collimating lens group; The fly-eye lens assembly includes: a first fly-eye lens array and a second fly-eye lens array, wherein the first fly-eye lens array is composed of a plurality of first fly-eye lens units, and the second fly-eye lens array is composed of a plurality of second fly-eye lens units, wherein the plurality of first fly-eye lens units and the second fly-eye lens units are biconvex lenses with symmetrical curvatures; the curvature radius of the first fly-eye lens unit facing the light source is 40 mm, and the curvature radius of the first fly-eye lens unit facing away from the light source is -19.5 mm; The projection lens group focuses the light beam emitted from the fly-eye lens array group to obtain a uniform square light spot on the illumination surface.

2. The near-infrared optical fiber uniform light illumination device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The size of the first fly-eye lens unit in the first fly-eye lens array is 10.5×13.5 mm, and the number is 9*7.

3. The near-infrared optical fiber uniform light illumination device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The air gap between the first fly-eye lens array and the second fly-eye lens array is 25.5 mm, and the thickness of the first fly-eye lens array and the second fly-eye lens array are both 7 mm.

4. The near-infrared optical fiber uniform light illumination device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lens material of the first fly-eye lens unit and the second fly-eye lens unit is fused silica glass.

5. The near-infrared optical fiber uniform light illumination device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The curvature radius of the collimating lens assembly facing the light source is 150 mm, the curvature radius of the collimating lens assembly facing away from the light source is -150 mm, and the thickness of the collimating lens assembly is 20 mm.

6. The near-infrared optical fiber uniform light illumination device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The distance between the collimating lens group and the light-emitting surface of the light source is 130 mm, and the distance between the collimating lens group and the first fly-eye lens array is 100 mm.

7. The near-infrared optical fiber uniform light illumination device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The curvature radius of the projection lens assembly toward the light source is 200 mm, the curvature radius of the side away from the light source is -200 mm, and the thickness of the projection lens assembly is 25 mm.

8. The near-infrared optical fiber uniform light illumination device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The air gap between the projection lens group and the second fly-eye lens array is 60 mm.

9. The near-infrared optical fiber uniform light illumination device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lens materials of the projection lens group and the collimating lens group are borosilicate crown glass.

10. A fluorescence imaging system, characterized in that: The device comprises the near-infrared optical fiber uniform light illumination device as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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