Confocal micro-endoscope for multi-color 3-D fluorescence imaging

In this work, we present two optical designs of confocal micro-endoscopes. One is based on all-reflective parabolic mirrors, and the other is based on hybrid refraction-reflection catadioptric mirrors. Both confocal micro-endoscope designs can operate at 500-780 nm with minimal chromatic aberration. An all-micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) 3-D beam scanning approach enables video-rate imaging along the axial direction. The confocal micro-endoscopes are modeled and optimized using ray-tracing simulations in ZEMAX software. The simulation results of the critical design criteria show that the confocal micro-endoscope has a potential for multi-color 3-D fluorescence imaging.