Thorlabs has released Modulating LED Source LEDD3, which is designed for frequency domain Fluorescent Lifetime Imaging (FLIM) and other microscopy applications that require modulated high brightness LED sources (HB-LEDs).
The LEDD3 source comprises of a non switching high current driver plus a HB-LED head with passive cooling for high thermal dissipation losses.
The LEDD3 driver is compact, easy to use and offers three operation modes for flexibility in usage and application. The internal modulation operation mode is for typical frequency modulated FLIM applications. In this mode the LED’s modulation frequency can be set from 10 to 100MHz (depending on the connected LED).
Brightness adjustments and percentage modulation depth settings can also be performed via the front panel. The external trigger mode offers LED control via an external voltage. Here the modulation is adjustable up to 100kHz by an input of 0-10V. This mode is generally used for non-FLIM applications. For visual inspection of the microscopy samples a constant current mode allows control of the LED brightness by a non-modulating LED current from 0 to 1A.
The LEDD3 head offers flexible mounting options. Via a 2” external thread different collimation optics can be connected. Collimation optics that are compatible with the following microscopes are optionally available: Olympus BX & IX, Leica DMI, Nikon Eclipse (F-Mount), and Zeiss Axioskop.