Mid-Infrared Quantum Scanning Microscopy with Visible Light

Laser scanning microscopy (LSM) is known to be the workhorse for modern life-science, it allows to get new insights into a variety of biological processes. LSM together with illumination in the mid infrared region (Mid-IR) permits to map the chemical composition of samples to a space frame. However, low-light observations in the Mid-IR spectrum are still challenging and a limiting factor for a faster development. A label-free quantum scanning imaging system is presented here, capable of performing the detection in the visible regime, while the illumination is carried out in the Mid-IR region. Our quantum imaging with undetected light implementation aims to retrieve amplitude and phase images of biological samples containing a variety of functional groups that are present in the Mid-IR region.