MII and MIIPS®Our technology applies to lasers, and in particular lasers that produce ultrashort (femtosecond) pulses. Femtosecond (10-15s) lasers have very important properties, making them desirable for a number of applications (for example: cutting without thermal damage, and imaging through scattering media). Producing these ultrashort pulses is difficult. Making sure they stay short until they reach the target is also difficult and requires highly trained (PhD) laser experts. Our MIIPS® technology (see below) automatically measures and compresses the pulses so that they arrive at the target with the shortest possible duration. The measurement and compression are done at a level of accuracy and resolution that is higher than what could be achieved by a laser expert and conventional optics. In most settings, our technology enables applications of ultrashort pulses by eliminating manual tweaking, which is one of the most difficult and time consuming aspects of femtosecond lasers. Multiphoton Intrapulse Interference (MII)Linear optical interference is a well understood physical process that is responsible for example for the observation of rainbows in soap bubbles, and makes the spot where a laser pointer shines on to appear "sparkly". takes place during nonlinear optical excitation. MII is a quantum mechanical interference that is similar to linear interference, however, it involves nonlinear processes such as two-photon excitation, second harmonic generation, sum frequency mixing, difference frequency mixing etcetera. Just like in linear interference, constructive and destructive interference can be achieved by changing the relative phase between the two interfering photons. Similarly, in MII, one is able to obtain constructive or destructive interference by changing the phase between the interfering photons. The word "intrapulse" implies that the interfering photons come from the same pulse. In MII one controls the interference of photons with different frequencies that are withing the spectrum of the pulse. Using MII one can design specific shaped pulses that suppress certain nonlinear optical processes, through destructive interference. This is extremely important for applications such as two-photon microscopy. MII has been demonstrated on a number of different samples ranging from atoms to crystals and from isolated molecules to proteins in solution. Multiphoton Intrapulse Interference Phase Scan (MIIPS®)
MIIPS® Awards
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What are femtosecond lasers?A femtosecond laser is a laser which emits optical pulses with a duration well below 1 ps ( ultrashort pulses), i.e., in the domain of femtoseconds (1 fs = 10-15s). It thus also belongs to the category of ultrafast lasers or ultrashort pulse lasers. The generation of such short pulses is nearly always achieved with the technique of passive mode locking. White Papers and Application NotesDownload white paper Pulse Compression for Ultrafast Nonlinear Microscopy What can you do with MIIPS®
Why use LC SLM over other options?MIIPS® Links
Our products, the MIIPS® technology and its use may be covered by one or more of the following US patents 7,105,811; 7,439,497; 7,450,618; 7,567,596; 7,583,710; 7,609,731; 7,973,936; European patents: EP 1,723,704 as well as other US or international patents pending.
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The principle of MII (above)can be used to measure spectral phase distortions in femtosecond pulses. Unlike other pulsed sources, femtosecond pulses are dispersed (broadened in time) when propagating through any medium different than vacuum. Therefore, applications requiring femtosecond lasers depend on accurate compensation of dispersion effects. Industrial, as well as clinical, applications require that all lasers consistently deliver identical pulses to the target to ensure reproducibility. Pulse characterization and automated compensation are integrated by the MIIPSŪ technology. 
