Two-dimensional imaging without scanning by multifocal multiphoton microscopy

We describe multifocal multiphoton microscopy giving images without laser scanning. A multitude of 8*8 laser beams is focused into a sample yielding two-photon excitation in a plane. The focal spots are arranged in a rectangular array with close spacing between individual points (approximately 0.5 (mu)m). The fluorescence emission from the sample is recorded with a CCD camera, but, owing to the close distance between the beams, they can no longer be regarded as individual points but rather as an illumination of the plane that is covered by the array of focal points. The axial sectioning capability is comparable with an ordinary single-beam two-photon microscope. Interference between the beams that could compromise the axial sectioning capability does not occur in our setup owing to small temporal delays between the individual beams. The axial sectioning capability of the setup is discussed in detail by means of the step response in which the foci are scanned axially into a uniformly fluorescent medium.