Low-power compact continuous-wave stimulated emission depletion microscopy

Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy can break the optical diffraction barrier and provide subdiffraction resolution. According to the STED superresolution imaging principle, the resolution of STED is positively related to the power of the depletion laser. However, high-laser power largely limits the study of living cells or living bodies. Moreover, the high complexity and high cost of conventional pulsed STED microscopy limit the application of this technique. Therefore, this paper describes a simple continuous-wave STED (CW-STED) system constructed on a 45 × 60 cm breadboard and combined with digitally enhanced (DE) technology; low-power superresolution imaging is realized, which has the advantages of reducing system complexity and cost. The low-system complexity, low cost, and low-power superresolution imaging features of CW-STED have great potential to advance the application of STED microscopy in biological research.