Chameleon Family
Family of products designed to expand the frontiers of MPE solutions. Chameleon lasers feature the widest tuning range and highest power at any wavelength.
Not sure which Chameleon laser fits your application best? Simply email us today to find out.
| Updated GUI Software for control of DPSS lasers is available from the Coherent GUI web page. | |
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Welcome to Chameleon — Your Multiphoton Imaging Ti:Sapphire Laser
Multiphoton microscopy demands a laser that is simple to use, yet flexible enough to allow you to explore the widest range of wavelengths and fluorophores. Chameleon is a compact, single-box, ultrafast laser oscillator designed for completely hands-off operation.With automated tuning, Chameleon delivers optical pulses with GVD characteristics matched to commercial MPE microscopes covering a wavelength range of 400 nm. By incorporating our proprietary Power Pulse system, Chameleon can change color quickly (faster than 40 nm/s) while optimizing output power and pulse width automatically. And with the purpose-designed MRU air recirculator, Chameleon tunes effortlessly through atmospheric water vapor absorption lines, without the need for an external purge. Dependable as well as agile, Chameleon incorporates our patented, field-proven Kerr lens modelocking technique, which is the most straightforward, reliable method for producing ultrafast pulses. Chameleon requires only single-phase AC power, no external cooling water, and has a simple menu-driven operator interface. The result is a truly hands-off, virtually maintenance-free laser system, which allows you to put your focus exactly where it belongs—on your work.
| Chameleon Family Specifications | ||
| Output Power (W) | Tuning Range (nm) |
Chameleon Ultra | >2.5 at 800 nm | 690 to 1020 |
Chameleon Ultra I | >2.9 at 800 nm | 690 to 1040 |
Chameleon Ultra II | >3.5 at 800 nm | 680 to 1080 |
Chameleon Vision I | >2.5 at 800 nm | 690 to 1040 |
Chameleon Vision II | >3.0 at 800 nm | 680 to 1080 |
Chameleon Vision S | >2.3 at 800 nm | 690 to 1050 |
Chameleon Compact OPO | >0.55 at 1100 nm | 1000 to 1600 |
Chameleon Compact OPO-Vis | >0.55 at 1100 nm >0.11 at 550 nm >1.4 at 400 nm | 1000 to 1600 500 to 800 340 to 540 |
Chameleon PreComp | 90% Transmission | Matches any Chameleon Ultra version |
The new expanded Chameleon portfolio gives you the ultimate choice of one-box solutions for brighter images, better sample viability and deeper tissue penetration covering the broadest range of flurophores. Choose the new Chameleon Vision with integrated precompensation or one of the Chameleon Ultra one-box lasers with the choice to add precompensation or a Chameleon OPO wavelength extension accessory later on. Whatever your choice, you will get the following Chameleon advantages to achieve brightest images in MPE.
Brightest Images
Shortest Pulsewidths: Microscopes and scanning units may have highly dispersive elements like acousto-optics modulators (AOM) or complex, high-index lenses. It is now possible for some complex MPE optical systems to exhibit more than 30,000 fs2 of GVD. This level of GVD will lengthen an unchirped pulse to many times the original duration by the time it reaches the sample. Using the formula above one can see that the longer pulses will decrease the fluorescent signal. This can be compensated by increasing the average power; however power on the sample in the order of higher than 100 mW may damage most samples. In these cases precompensating the pulses by adding a negative chirp is a good solution. Chameleon Vision enables you to manage your pulses and get the pulse duration that you think works best for your samples. Longest wavelengths: Interest in using longer wavelengths has been increasing in the last few years. In addition to the availability of new fluorescent probes (like RFP, mCherry and mTomato), longer wavelengths are useful for SHG/THG microscopy. When used for standard MPE imaging they offer the advantage of increased flexibility of choices when you want to optimize fluorescent excitation, minimize damage to the sample or minimize light scattering in the sample. Chameleon Vision and Chameleon Ultra II tune up to 1080 nm to best reach the mFruit fluorescent proteins, while Chameleon OPO allows you to reach the limit of the water absorption around 1,400 to 1,500 nm and open new frontiers in SHG/THG and using newer fluorophores. The Chameleon platform gives you all the flexibility that you need now and in the future. To learn how your experiment and imaging results could benefit from the industry’s broadest solutions portfolio for MPE, please contact our support team at 1-800-527-3786 or via email at tech.sales@coherent.com. Chameleon. The ultimate MPE engine. Ready to image. | |||||||||
The Chameleon Advantage
The Chameleon Vision sets the benchmark for integrated precompensation. It uses a proprietary prism-based design that compensates the broadest range of GVD in a compact package. Traditional two-prism designs cannot deliver this same level of performance in such a small package size. This proprietary approach builds optimum beam pointing and stability into the design. It takes integrated precompensation to the next level offering the following advantages:
- Highest output power: With more than 3 Watts, the Chameleon Vision offers the highest output power available from a laser with integrated precompensation.
- Highest maximum negative dispersion: Many commercial microscopes now use acousto-optic devices introducing a considerable amount of pulse broadening. Home-built systems, designed for fast scanning for use with exotic lenses, may introduce the same effect. The new Chameleon Vision system is ideal to address these needs as its unique prism design adds up to 47,000 fs2 of negative dispersion usable to compensate your optical system. Chameleon Vision gives you dispersion compensation for the widest range of set-ups in order to deliver shorter pulses.
- Highest dynamic range: The unique prism design enables you to vary the added negative dispersion over the full range - from maximum negative GVD down to 0 fs2 - without adding additional optics. This delivers peace of mind in flexibility for your setups.
- Superior beam pointing: Chameleon Vision uses PermAlign™ technology (solder bonded optics) to mount all critical optical components. In combination with the unique prism design this provides unmatched beam pointing stability. This superior beam pointing stability translates into consistent images, scan after scan, sample after sample.
- Widest tuning range: The widest tuning range of any integrated precompensation laser product providing the greatest flexibility in choice of fluorophores.
- Fastest tuning: At 40 nm/s Chameleon has the fastest tuning speed on the market. A faster tuning range means that you can take images with different excitation wavelengths at a faster pace.
- Lowest noise: The built-in single mode Verdi™ pump laser is key to Chameleon's reliability and low noise performance. Low noise from the excitation source means less variation in the excitation of each image pixel.
