I always use "confocal" as a key word, if it doesn't appear in the title.
I even do this for my papers on two-photon, because the confocal community
is often the readership I'd like to reach.  I don't think any single
acronym will ever be appropriate for every paper, and recommend that
authors use the one best suited for the particular manuscript.  Personally,
I have little problem reading a paper which uses the letters C,L,S,M in
any order.  As Dr. Cogswell saya, the literature search is the important
thing.  Please include confocal in the title or keywords.
 
                                Dave Piston
                                Vanderbilt University