Multimode lasers revisited: optimized performance and value for confocal and super-resolution microscopy

Multimode lasers have traditionally been dismissed for advanced microscopy applications requiring precise beam control. Lumencor's White Paper presents evidence from spinning disk confocal, SoRa, and STORM imaging that challenges this assumption, demonstrating that properly engineered multimode systems can meet demanding performance requirements at a fraction of the cost

For many years, advanced microscopy techniques such as confocal imaging, STORM, and super-resolution methods have relied exclusively on single mode lasers. Their narrow spectral width, high spatial coherence, and stable beam profiles deliver essential precision for high-resolution fluorescence imaging. This performance comes at significant cost, both in initial investment and ongoing replacement expenses, as single mode lasers typically last only two to three years.

Multimode lasers have historically been relegated to widefield applications where high power matters more than beam quality. But what if multimode lasers could be engineered to meet the demanding requirements of advanced microscopy whilst offering substantial cost savings and extended lifetimes?

Challenging conventional wisdom

Lumencor's ZIVA and CELESTA light engines demonstrate that broader beam profiles needn't compromise image clarity, focal precision, or spectral purity when properly designed. These turnkey systems house up to seven solid-state lasers in a compact footprint, delivering switching times of 100 microseconds. Whilst single mode lasers require replacement every few years at considerable expense, multimode laser light engines provide more than 70% of their initial optical output for five to ten years with no maintenance.

What this White Paper delivers

This White Paper provides comprehensive evidence that multimode lasers can successfully support applications previously limited to single mode systems.

Inside, you'll discover:

• Stability testing protocols: how ZIVA and CELESTA light engines meet QUAREP-LiMi guidelines for pulse-to-pulse stability
• Yokogawa CSU spinning disk applications: achieving uniform, high-intensity illumination for fast confocal imaging
• Super-resolution capabilities: enabling SoRa optical reassignment for 2× resolution improvement and STORM imaging at nanometre-scale resolution
• Performance specifications: delivering high brightness (~5000 mW/mm²), fast switching (100 μsec), and excellent stability
• Cost and lifetime advantages: comparing total cost of ownership between single mode and multimode solutions

Who should read this White Paper?

This White Paper is essential reading for microscopy facility managers, research scientists, optical engineers, and procurement decision-makers evaluating illumination solutions for confocal, super-resolution, and advanced fluorescence microscopy applications.

Why you should read it

Understand how multimode laser technology can deliver the performance required for demanding microscopy techniques whilst significantly reducing both initial investment and ongoing operational costs, enabling democratisation of advanced imaging capabilities.

Download the White Paper to explore how engineered multimode laser solutions are challenging long-held assumptions about illumination requirements in advanced microscopy.