Metabolism is a complex biochemical process in living organisms that involves different biomolecules and consists of various reaction steps. To understand the multi-step biochemical reactions involving various components, it’s essential to elucidate in-situ dynamics and the correlations between different types of biomolecules at subcellular resolution. In this context, we integrated deuterium-probed pico-second laser scanning stimulated Raman Scattering (DO-SRS), multiphoton fluorescence (MPF), and second harmonic generation (SHG) into a single microscopy system to study metabolic activities in cells, tissues, and animals during aging and diseases. We further developed this multimodal microscopy into a super-resolution multiplex imaging platform using the Adam-based Pointillism Deconvolution (A-PoD) algorithm. By combining it with heavy water or deuterated metabolites probing (glucose, amino acids, fatty acids, etc.), we directly visualized the metabolic changes of various  biomolecules in animal organs such as the brain, adipose tissue, liver, muscle, and ovaries during aging processes (Mouse and Drosophila). We quantitatively analyzed the turnover rates of proteins and lipids, lipid unsaturation rates, and optical redox ratios in situ at the subcellular organelle scale. We also studied the spatially correlated distributions of various metabolites using a custom-designed analysis method. One of our key findings revealed that lipid turnover decreases earlier in aged female Drosophila compared to males. Additionally, we observed that dietary restriction and downregulation of the insulin/IGF-1 signaling (IIS) pathway, both known to extend lifespan, significantly enhanced brain lipid turnover in aging flies. This platform empowers researchers to quantitatively image various molecular events in the same region of interest. It provides powerful tools for early-stage disease detection, prognosis, and treatment, as well as for a deeper mechanistic understanding of the fundamentals of aging and diseases.

Key electronics and semiconductor manufacturing technologies require laser processing vertical high-aspect ratio holes. Laser-drilled vias in flexible and rigid PCBs are found in most electronic devices. Semiconductors recently adopted heterogeneous integration techniques with glass interposers requiring high-density through glass vias (TGV) manufactured via ablation or laser-induced deep etching (LIDE).   

Both application areas leverage a common motion trajectory primitive — step and settle. Step and settle moves are predicated based on the motion system’s ability to move the laser spot from one fixed position to another as quickly as possible and fire the laser only after the motion system has settled to within the desired tolerance. The desired time to move from hole to hole and fire the laser is typically measured in tens or hundreds of microseconds. High-density PCBs or glass interposers have tens of thousands of holes, making drilling time critical to overall production throughput. As the via diameters and space between them decrease for existing and emerging applications, the dynamics and precision for positioning the beam at each hole location becomes more critical. As the via diameters decrease and via hole density increases for next-generation applications, decreasing step and settle times will be vital for viable production processes.

This presentation will discuss, in detail, advanced motion concepts for making laser drilled vias  that not only drastically reduce step and settle times for laser scan heads performing the step and settle motion, but also challenge common conventions associated with machine design concepts for this process. This is done in an effort to enable the next generation of electronic and semiconductor devices to be manufactured at scale without sacrificing quality requirements.

Who is this for: 
Laser process machine builders and end users. Most importantly, laser process engineers who may be interested in achieving micron precision over large surface areas or on complex topologies with ultrafast lasers.
 

Increasing the output power of laser systems is beneficial in a variety of applications, including directed energy and material processing. Measuring the power accurately and safely at high powers presents challenges that require consideration of such properties as cooling and light backscatter. In this session, Dr. Tim Cheng discusses issues in measuring high power laser systems as well as the methods and benefits of such techniques as beamsplitters, beam area expanders, volume absorbers, calorimeters, and more

The session discusses the selection of optical filters in a fluorescence microscope system for biological applications, under real-world conditions of overlapping fluorescent probe spectra and spectral edge position jitter in bandpass and dichroic filters. Overlapping spectra result in crosstalk/unmixing issues that complicate both the interpretation of data obtained from a typical fluorescence detection system and the choice of optimal optical filters. Similarly, spectral edge variation in optical filters, due to imperfections in production processes, can result in device-to-device variability in detected signal levels. Simulation studies can be useful to understand the origins and extent of these issues and can assist in the optimal choices for filters and components such as excitation light sources. This session will provide guidance on how to perform these simulations with SearchLight, a free tool available from IDEX Health & Science | Semrock to simulate an epi-illumination microscope, that comes with a large database of fluorophores, optical filters, light sources, and cameras. The presentation is ideal for optical system engineers in fluorescence device development, university researchers using and developing fluorescence microscopes and systems, and consultants to that segment of the optical device industry. 

Short pulse lasers offer a number of advantages in high-precision machining including a reduced heat-affected zone (HAZ) resulting in little or no additional post processing clean-up work. For X-Y scanning systems, this requires specially designed F theta lens.  The presentation will  cover F theta lens specifications; non and telecentric lens, multispectral F theta lens, the issue of back reflections and internal ghosts when using high power and short pulse lasers, how to calculate spot size relative to input beam diameters, scan field size, mirror spacing, correction files, laser M2 values relative to spot performance, thermal focus shift, anti-reflective coatings and ultra short pulse laser F theta lens color correction.