Second-Order Susceptibility Imaging with Polarization-Resolved, Second Harmonic Generation Microscopy

Second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy has become an important tool for minimally invasive biomedical imaging. However, differentiation of different second harmonic generating species is mainly provided by morphological features. Using excitation polarization-resolved SHG microscopy we determined the ratios of the second-order susceptibility tensor elements at single pixel resolution. Mapping the resultant ratios for each pixel onto an image provides additional contrast for the differentiation of different sources of SHG. We demonstrate this technique by imaging collagen-muscle junction of chicken wing.