Polarization-dependent optical second-harmonic imaging of rat-tail tendon

Patrick Christian Stoller; Beop-Min Kim; Alexander M. Rubenchik; Karen M. Reiser; Luiz Barroca Da Silva

doi:10.1117/1.1431967

1 April 2002 Polarization-dependent optical second-harmonic imaging of rat-tail tendon

Patrick Christian Stoller, Beop-Min Kim, Alexander M. Rubenchik, Karen M. Reiser, Luiz Barroca Da Silva

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Biomedical Optics, Vol. 7, Issue 2, (April 2002). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1431967

Using scanning confocal microscopy, we measure the backscattered second harmonic signal generated by a 100 fs laser in rat-tail tendon collagen. Damage to the sample is avoided by using a continuous scanning technique, rather than measuring the signal at discrete points. The second harmonic signal varies by about a factor of 2 across a single cross section of the rat-tail tendon fascicle. The signal intensity depends both on the collagen organization and the backscattering efficiency. This implies that we cannot use intensity measurements alone to characterize collagen structure. However, we can infer structural information from the polarization dependence of the second harmonic signal. Axial and transverse scans for different linear polarization angles of the input beam show that second harmonic generation (SHG) in the rat-tail tendon depends strongly on the polarization of the input laser beam. We develop an analytical model for the SHG as a function of the polarization angle in the rat-tail tendon. We apply this model in determining the orientation of collagen fibrils in the fascicle and the ratio ? between the two independent elements of the second-order nonlinear susceptibility tensor. There is a good fit between our model and the measured data.

©(2002) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

Citation Download Citation

Patrick Christian Stoller, Beop-Min Kim, Alexander M. Rubenchik, Karen M. Reiser, and Luiz Barroca Da Silva "Polarization-dependent optical second-harmonic imaging of rat-tail tendon," Journal of Biomedical Optics 7(2), (1 April 2002). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1431967

Published: 1 April 2002

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

JOURNAL ARTICLE
10 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY