Abstract

Nonlinear microscopes, such as multiphoton and second harmonic generation microscopes, have seen an increase in popularity in the life sciences thanks to their molecular/structural specificity, high resolution, large penetration depth, and volumetric imaging capability. In particular, second harmonic generation (SHG) is inherently sensitive to the absence of spatial centrosymmetry, which can render it intrinsically sensitive to interfacial processes, chemical changes and electrochemical responses. Nonetheless, the inherently weak optical signals of nonlinear processes limit their usage in live cell imaging compared to linear imaging.

© 2015 IEEE