Fully refractive adaptive optics fluorescence microscope using an optofluidic wavefront modulator

Abstract: Adaptive optics (AO) is a powerful image correction technique with proven benefits for many life-science microscopy methods. However, the complexity of adding a reflective wavefront modulator and a wavefront sensor into already complicated microscope has made AO prohibitive for its widespread adaptation in microscopy systems. We present here the design and performance of a compact fluorescence microscope using a fully refractive optofluidic wavefront modulator yielding imaging performance on par with that of conventional deformable mirrors, both in correction fidelity and articulation. We combine this device with a modal sensorless wavefront estimation algorithm that uses spatial frequency content of acquired images as a quality metric and thereby demonstrate a completely in-line adaptive optics microscope which can perform aberration correction up to 4$^{th}$ radial order of Zernike modes. This entirely new concept for adaptive optics microscopy may prove to extend the performance limits and widespread applicability of AO in life science imaging.