Label-free second harmonic generation holographic microscopy of biological specimens.

Second-order nonlinear holographic microscopy for high-speed, three-dimensional imaging is demonstrated. The use of harmonic generation allows image formation of endogenous features in biological samples such as muscle tissue. We have acquired holograms with acquisition times as short as 10 ms, limited by the switching speed of our shutter; frame rates of 100's of Hz are expected to be possible. The samples are imaged with a Yb:KGW femtosecond laser oscillator, whose 1027 nm wavelength is well suited to minimize absorption and scattering. The low average power of the oscillator prevents damage to the sample. (c) 2010 Optical Society of America.