Orthogonal dispersion modeling of double-stage VIPA spectrometer in SBS system.

Brillouin microscopy enables the assessment of the mechanical properties of biological tissues by mapping the Brillouin shift in three-dimensional (3D), all-optical, label-free, non-contact, and subcellular resolution. The virtually imaged phased array (VIPA) etalon is widely utilized for measuring Brillouin spectra owing to its superior light throughput, large angular dispersion, and rapid signal acquisition capabilities. The VIPA-based spectrometer plays a significant role in Brillouin microscopy, but it is highly sensitive to factors such as the tilt angle, beam radius, lens focal length, and so on. Here, we propose an orthogonal dispersion model based on paraxial wave theory. This model is employed to explore the output intensity distribution and dispersion characteristics of a double-stage VIPA spectrometer. To validate the proposed model, we develop a stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) system by leveraging the optimal spectrometer parameters to measure the Brillouin frequency shift in pure water. We demonstrate the capabilities of this model in mitigating spectral dispersion and enhancing spectral measurement accuracy by optimizing the spectrometer's system parameters. This work is pivotal for the future deployment of the double-stage VIPA spectrometer in SBS-based microscopy applications.