Helping you negotiate the challenges of embedded software, system and instrumentation design

Helping you negotiate the challenges of embedded software, system and instrumentation design

High Speed Cellular Photobleaching System

Problem:

A manufacturer of optical and laser systems asked us to develop the next generation of a 2D laser galvo system used in biological research to selectively bleach cells of interest. Besides improvements in the optical path over the previous generation, this system had to dynamically modulate laser spot diameter, control spot overlap, spot power, handle upto 4096 x 4096 dot resolution and allow control over laser sweep patterns optimizing overall process time.

Solution:

To meet these requirements, Bytes By Design developed the ultimate system. Our design adopted a Xilinx Spartan 6 controller coupled to 128MB of memory and a USB 2 interface link. The PC accepts incoming digital video and allows the user to overlay an exposure pattern of laser spots. The gate array internal logic design incorporates a 5-way multi-ported DDR3 memory controller, a page allocation unit for targeting mask allocation maximizing storage space, a targeting mask rasterizer unit, a stepper motor controller and a Microblaze 32-bit processor. The PC application allows drawing cell masks on 4 overlapping planes, alpha-blended overlays for modifying mask power and spot size.

DynaPoint optic assembly mounted on an Olympus inverted microscope.

Spartan controller unit mounted with high-speed galvos.


To see how we can help you, contact us at: bobpbbd104@gmail.com
Or call us: 781-395-9600

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