Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy

Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy

Optical microscopy uses optic principles to provide detailed images of samples. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek designed the first compound optical microscope in the 17th century to visualize blood cells, bacteria, and yeast cells. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created an essentially modern light microscope. The 20th century saw the development of microscopes with enhanced magnification and resolution.
In optical microscopy, the specimen to be viewed is placed on a glass slide and clipped on the stage...

Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy

Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy

Phase-Contrast Microscopes
In-phase-contrast microscopes, interference between light directly passing through a cell and light refracted by cellular components is used to create high-contrast, high-resolution images without staining. It is the oldest and simplest type of microscope that creates an image by altering the wavelengths of light rays passing through the specimen. Altered wavelength paths are created using an annular stop in the condenser. The annular stop produces a hollow cone of...

Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy

Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy

Confocal microscopy is an advanced microscopic technique. The prime advantage of the confocal microscope over other microscopy techniques is its ability to block the out-of-focus light from the illuminated samples using pinholes. It is widely used with fluorescence optics to obtain high-resolution, sharp contrast images. Unlike optical microscopes, confocal microscopes use a focused beam of light laser to scan the entire sample surface at different z-planes. These microscopes are, therefore,...

Focusing of Light in the Eye

Focusing of Light in the Eye

Light rays enter the eye through the cornea, a transparent dome-shaped tissue that is the eye's outermost layer. The cornea bends or refracts, light rays traveling to the pupil. The shape of the cornea determines how much of the light is bent and whether the image will be focused correctly on the retina at the back of the eye. Once the light has passed through both refraction layers, it converges into a single focal point onto a small area. This is where photoreceptors start transforming...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Relationship between monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio and age-related macular degeneration: Findings from a national cross-sectional study.

European journal of ophthalmology·2025

Same author

Silicon nitride PIC beam formers for light sheet fluorescent microscopy.

Biomedical optics express·2025

Same author

320 GHz photonic-electronic analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) exploiting Kerr soliton microcombs.

Light, science & applications·2025

Same author

Continuous-wave electrically pumped multi-quantum-well laser based on group-IV semiconductors.

Nature communications·2024

Same author

The role of mental representation in sharing misinformation online.

Journal of experimental psychology. Applied·2024

Same author

Mammalian Animal and Human Retinal Organ Culture as Pre-Clinical Model to Evaluate Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Intraocular Therapeutics.

Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland)·2023

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Universal Hand-held Three-dimensional Optoacoustic Imaging Probe for Deep Tissue Human Angiography and Functional Preclinical Studies in Real Time

Universal Hand-held Three-dimensional Optoacoustic Imaging Probe for Deep Tissue Human Angiography and Functional Preclinical Studies in Real Time

Published on: November 4, 2014

Focusing optical phased array for tissue interrogation with improved side-lobe suppression and simplified beam

Pedram Hosseini¹, Alireza Tabatabaei Mashayekh¹, Prachi Agrawal¹

¹Institute of Integrated Photonics, RWTH Aachen University, Campus Boulevard 73, 52074 Aachen, Germany.

Biomedical Optics Express

|January 14, 2026

Summary

This study presents a silicon nitride photonic integrated circuit for ex-vivo retinal cell characterization. It uses optical phased arrays for precise optical stimulation, enabling targeted single-cell analysis.

More Related Videos

Evaluating Targeting Accuracy in the Focal Plane for an Ultrasound-guided High-intensity Focused Ultrasound Phased-array System

Evaluating Targeting Accuracy in the Focal Plane for an Ultrasound-guided High-intensity Focused Ultrasound Phased-array System

Published on: March 6, 2019

Characterization of SiN Integrated Optical Phased Arrays on a Wafer-Scale Test Station

Characterization of SiN Integrated Optical Phased Arrays on a Wafer-Scale Test Station

Published on: April 1, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Universal Hand-held Three-dimensional Optoacoustic Imaging Probe for Deep Tissue Human Angiography and Functional Preclinical Studies in Real Time

Universal Hand-held Three-dimensional Optoacoustic Imaging Probe for Deep Tissue Human Angiography and Functional Preclinical Studies in Real Time

Published on: November 4, 2014

Evaluating Targeting Accuracy in the Focal Plane for an Ultrasound-guided High-intensity Focused Ultrasound Phased-array System

Evaluating Targeting Accuracy in the Focal Plane for an Ultrasound-guided High-intensity Focused Ultrasound Phased-array System

Published on: March 6, 2019

Characterization of SiN Integrated Optical Phased Arrays on a Wafer-Scale Test Station

Characterization of SiN Integrated Optical Phased Arrays on a Wafer-Scale Test Station

Published on: April 1, 2020

Area of Science:

Photonics
Neuroscience
Biomedical Engineering

Background:

Ex-vivo retinal characterization requires precise optical stimulation methods.
Existing techniques may lack the resolution or control for single-cell targeting.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop an integrated photonic circuit for high-resolution ex-vivo retinal analysis.
To achieve precise optical stimulation of individual retinal cells using optical phased arrays.

Main Methods:

Implementation of a silicon nitride photonic integrated circuit with a multi-electrode array.
Design and experimental realization of curved grating emitters and optical phased arrays for beam forming.
Utilizing meandered thermal phase shifters for beam steering and focusing control.

Main Results:

Achieved transverse focusing with 1-2 µm spot sizes for single-cell targeting.
Demonstrated optical phased arrays with suppressed side-lobes (few percent power).
Showcased beam steering (±5.1° transverse, 4.26° longitudinal) and focal spot translation (204 µm axial) with low currents and wavelength tuning.

Conclusions:

The developed photonic integrated circuit enables precise optical stimulation for ex-vivo retinal characterization.
The system offers significant improvements in targeting accuracy and reduced off-target cellular excitation.
This technology holds potential for advancing retinal research and diagnostics.