Ultra-fast micro mirror array targets optical microscopes
By using a second chip, it is possible to precisely select specific areas as well as the angle at which these are illuminated. This technique is able to reach objects that appear as three-dimensional structures to be highlighted with even greater precision and to significantly reduce undesired environmental influences.
A single MEMS chip consists of an array of 65,536 separate micro mirrors which can each be tilted separately and virtually in a continuous way. By controlling the deflection of all mirrors it is possible to distribute the angle of incidence and the intensity of the light with up to 1,000 changes per second over the entire matrix area. In order to test the benefits of this MEMS technology for use in optical microscopes, researchers at Fraunhofer IPMS team up with the manufacturer of optical systems, IN-VISION Digital Imaging Optics GmbH in Austria, and scientists of the plateforme d’imagerie dynamique (PFID) at the Institut Pasteur, in France.
The aim of the French consortium’s leader is to apply this innovative combination of optics and genetics to influence the expression of individual genes in cells or organs of zebrafish embryos and fruit fly larvae. Such an intervention will make it possible to study the influence of specific genes on the development of organisms with far greater precision than before. The system is also intended to be used to activate neurons by means of genetically modified, light sensitive ion channels and thereby explore the function of individual neural networks in cerebral tissue.
This research collaboration between Fraunhofer and the Institut Pasteur is being supported by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research and the French National Research Agency within the framework of the Inter Carnot Fraunhofer Programme. The system and the latest research results will be presented to the public on the joint exhibition stand no. 224 at the specialist conference and SPIE Photonics Europe in Brussels from April 14 to 17.
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