Low-Cost Laser Illumination for Microscopy
General Information
Welcome to the site of “Low-Cost Laser Illumination for Microscopy” workshop, an exciting hands-on workshop where participants learned how to build and use a low-cost, modular fiber-coupled laser light source for microscopy. This event was held on December 11 and 12, 2023, in San Joaquin campus, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, and was organized by the LIBRE hub team with support from Chang Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI).
Visit our gallery (Flickr) to see the pictures from this workshop. NOTE: If you share them on social media, please, use #LIBREhub on the description or tag us on your posts.
Assembly instructions
Concepts and principles about laser illumination and safety training information can be found here.
The assembly instructions, bill of materials, and source files can be found on the following link: https://librehub.github.io/fiber-coupled-laser-illumination/.
Technical information
The workshop kit includes:
- Laser diode coupled to multimode optical fiber with a 105μm core and 2m length,
- Metal heat sink,
- Current source for the laser diode.
These three components have an approximate cost over USD 200. The diode included in the kit may be:
- 405 nm, 300 mW (violet),
- 488 nm, 55 mW (blue, typically used for green fluorescence excitation), or
- 638 nm, 700 mW (red).
Their bandwidths are not documented; other similar multimode laser diodes have a bandwidth of about 2 nm.
Laser Colors: The default laser module in the workshop kit will be blue; If you have a color preference please justify your selection in the registration form under “3) Provide other impact indicators …”. The assignment of colors will be subject to availability and prioritization with a selection process based on the impact statement.
In the workshop, we will provide training on assembling and operating these elements safely, together with other additional low-cost elements in the kit, including:
- Additional electronics to power the laser,
- Collimation of the laser beam,
- Support pieces for holding the laser module and optical fiber,
Program and Place
Evento presencial en el Campus San Joaquín, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
| Hora | Día 1 - Lunes 11 de Diciembre | Lugar |
|---|---|---|
| 9:30 - 10:00 | Registro y Desayuno | Edificio Construccion Civil, Piso 5 |
| 10:00 - 10:45 | Bienvenida y Presentación del Taller / Instructores y Participantes | C508 |
| 10:45 - 11:30 | Introducción a LIBRE hub / Open Hardware for Bioimaging | C508 |
| 11:30 - 11:40 | Break | |
| 11:40 - 12:15 | Introducción al Diseño abierto en módulos de iluminación | C508 |
| 12:15 - 13:00 | Capacitación de seguridad Láser | |
| 13:00 - 14:30 | Almuerzo | Casino |
| 14:30 - 15:40 | Ensamblaje de lente sin difusor | C502 |
| 15:40 - 16:50 | Ensamblaje de ventilador | C502 |
| 16:50 - 17:00 | Break | |
| 17:00 - 18:00 | Ensamblaje de caja y electrónica | C502 |
| Hora | Día 2 - Martes 12 de Diciembre | Lugar |
|---|---|---|
| 9:30 - 10:00 | Registro y café | Edificio Construccion Civil, Piso 5 |
| 10:00 - 10:30 | Revisión de avances y dudas | C508 |
| 10:30 - 11:30 | Ajuste de distancia focal y acoplamiento óptico | C508 |
| 11:30 - 11:40 | Break | |
| 11:40 - 13:00 | Ajustes de homogeneización, motor y difusor | |
| 13:00 - 14:30 | Almuerzo | Casino |
| 14:30 - 14:50 | Extensiones de módulo láser e integración a otros dispositivos | C508 |
| 14:50 - 15:20 | Demostración de módulos láser usando microscopio OpenFlexure | |
| 15:20 - 15:30 | Break | |
| 15:30 - 16:15 | Visita al FabLab IDI e Instituto de Ingeniería Biológica y Médica | Edificio Ciencia y Tecnología, Pisos 6 y 7 |
| 16:15 - 17:00 | Networking |
References
Modules in this workshop will use the diodes described in the following reference, with additional adaptations:
Li, Hongquan, et al. “Squid: simplifying quantitative imaging platform development and deployment.” bioRxiv (2020): 2020-12.
doi, pdf, web, Github.
Subscribe to the LIBRE_hub mailing list for more content related. All online activities are recorded and posted on Youtube with subtitle options for Spanish and Portuguese.