6450 nm wavelength tissue ablation using a nanosecond laser based on difference frequency mixing and stimulated Raman scattering

A four-stage laser system was developed, emitting at a wavelength of 6450 nm with a 3-5 ns pulse duration, < or = 2 mJ pulse energy, and 1/2 Hz pulse repetition rate. The laser system successfully ablated rat brain tissue, where both the collateral damage and the ablation rate compare favorably with that previously observed with a Mark-III Free-Electron Laser.     

真空条件下不同波长固体激光烧蚀单晶硅的实验研究

通过倍频Nd：YAG固体激光的基波得到波长分别为532、355和266 nm的激光,研究了单晶硅（Si）对不同波长固体激光的吸收规律和3种不同波长激光在真空条件下烧蚀单晶Si的烧蚀特征。结果表明,单晶Si对波长为100~370 nm的紫外激光具有很好的吸收效果;在其他条件相同时,532 nm波长激光烧蚀单晶Si所需最低单脉冲能量（Ep=30 μJ）是355和266 nm波长激光烧蚀单晶Si所需最低单脉冲能量（Ep=15 μJ）的2倍;532、355和266 nm的激光烧蚀单晶Si的烧蚀阈值随着波长的变短而变小。     

Studying condensed phase formed upon interaction between a high-power laser pulse and crystal aluminum oxide

Forms of the condensed phase created under the action of a high-power CO₂ laser pulse (power, 4 J/pulse; λ = 10.6 μm; pulse duration, 1.5 μs) on optical sapphire (Al₂O₃) solid targets are investigated. The ablation products emitted from the laser crater and the particles formed in the space above the surface of the target are collected using witness samples oriented in a predetermined manner with respect to the laser crater. Forms of the condensed phase are studied via electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Conclusions are drawn as to the mechanisms of formation of particles with different shapes and structures, including Al₂O₃ vacuum hollow microspheres (hollow bubbles).     

Influence of the laser-spot diameter on photo-ablation rates

The dependence of the ablation rate of various materials on the laser spot diameter on the sample surface has been investigated. The experiments have been performed with excimer lasers at the wavelengths 193, 248 and 308 nm. Polymers, aluminum oxide ceramics, and glasses have been ablated under vacuum and ambient atmosphere conditions. In general, all materials show a more or less pronounced increase of the ablation rate with decreasing spot diameter in the range of 10–200 μm if pulses with nanosecond pulse durations are applied. For ultrashort pulses (500 fs) at 248 nm this diameter dependence is not observed. The expansion of the ablation plume over areas of different size seems to be the main reason for this effect.     

非晶硅薄膜太阳能电池的紫外激光刻蚀工艺

为提高电池的光电转换效率,通过改善激光刻蚀工艺,采用355 nm紫外纳秒激光分别进行了ZnO:Al薄膜（AZO）刻蚀（P1）、非晶硅薄膜（-Si）刻蚀（P2）和背电极刻蚀（P3）研究。采用万用表测量P1隔离电阻,采用电子扫描显微镜（SEM）和三维激光扫描仪测量刻槽的微结构和三维成像,激光拉曼散射光谱检测非晶硅薄膜刻蚀边缘的晶化。实验结果表明,当刻蚀速度600 mm/s,重复频率40 kHz,功率1.74 W的紫外激光刻蚀ZnO:Al薄膜时,刻槽的隔离效果最佳,达20 M; 紫外激光刻蚀能够有效地减小激光热效应引起的热影响和刻槽边缘的晶化范围,提高非晶硅薄膜电池的性能。     

自调Q、自锁模铒/镱共掺光纤激光器

研究了结构新颖的环形腔铒/镱（Er/Yb）共掺双包层光纤激光器.为了获得高功率激光输出，使用6个激光二极管（LD）同时抽运Er/Yb共掺光纤，采用光纤光栅（FBG）Sagnac环作为波长选择器，得到了中心波长为1548.11 nm、谱线宽度为0.06 nm的窄线宽激光输出；并利用增益光纤作为可饱和吸收体，实现了自调Q、自锁模脉冲输出.当抽运功率为719 mW时，激光器输出自调Q脉冲，脉冲周期为20μs，脉冲宽度为2.8μs，脉冲的平均功率为38.4mW，峰值功率为274.3mW；当抽运功率为3.6 W时，激光器输出自锁模脉冲，脉冲宽度为4ns，平均功率为319 mW，脉冲峰值功率大于10 W，重复频率为7.937 MHz.     

Comparative ablation rate from a Er: YAG laser on enamel and dentin of primary and permanent teeth

This study was conducted to analyze the ablation rate and micromorphological aspects of microcavities in enamel and dentin of primary and permanent teeth using a Er: YAG laser system. Micromorphological evaluation has been performed in terms of permanent teeth; however, little information about Er: YAG laser interaction with primary teeth can be found in the literature. Because children have been the most beneficiary patients with laser therapy in our offices, it is extremely necessary to compare the effects of this kind of laser system on the enamel and dentin of permanent and primary teeth. In this study, we used eleven intact primary anterior exfoliated teeth and six extracted permanent molar teeth. We used a commercial laser system: a Er: YAG Twin Light laser system (Fotona Medical Lasers, Slovenia) at 2940 nm, changing average energy levels per pulse (100, 200, 300, and 400 mJ) producing 48 microcavities in enamel and dentin of primary and permanent teeth. Primary teeth are more easily ablated than are permanent teeth, when related to enamel or dentin. However, while this laser system is capable of slowly revealing the enamel’s microstructure, in dentin only the lowest laser energies permit this kind of observation, more easily decomposing the original tissue aspect, when related to primary or permanent teeth. Statistically, the only different factor at the 5% level was an energy per pulse of 400 mJ, confirming the results found in SEM. Our results showed that dentin in both primary and permanent teeth is less resistant to Er: YAG laser ablation; this fact is easily observed under SEM observation and through the ablation rate evaluation.     

脉冲激光等离子体冲击波碎石机理分析

利用自行研制的Nd:YAG激光器产生的纳秒和微秒激光脉冲,分别在水中和空气中对几种人体结石进行了粉碎实验,激光被耦合到芯径为400μm的石英光纤中,耦合效率达70%.实验研究和分析计算表明脉冲激光等离子体冲击的产生是激光碎石的主要动力,而热分解作用只是促进了等离子体的形成并不是粉碎结石的主要原因,体液冲流和周围介质对等离子体的约束加速了碎石过程,脉冲激光碎石的过程是这几个方面共同作用的结果。     

Laser ablation of copper based alloys by single and double pulse laser induced breakdown spectroscopy

Single and double pulse laser induced breakdown spectroscopy was applied to the analysis of copper based alloys samples, in order to investigate the material ablation process under two different experimental conditions. An Nd:YAG laser, emitting at the fundamental wavelength (1064 nm) for a fixed value of total energy with the same pulse width, has been used for both set-up configurations. Certified samples of copper based alloys were examined in order to investigate the effect of their different compositions on the ablation process efficiency. The craters produced by the laser on the samples surfaces were measured by a contact profilometer in order to evaluate the mass of ablated material. In this respect the differences in behaviour of the single and the double pulse ablation for Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), respectively, have been considered. The dependence, under the same experimental conditions, of the LIBS background emission of the different ablated masses of the material has also been investigated, by looking for normalization algorithms for quantitative data reduction.The behaviour of some peculiar intensity ratios, suitable for building calibration curves, has been studied in order to evaluate the trend in fractionated evaporation on going from the single pulse to the double pulse technique. PACS 52.70.-m; 52.50.Jm; 42.62.Fi     

一种基于增益调制技术的全光纤化脉冲Yb光纤激光器

以波长为975 nm的半导体激光器作为泵浦源,周期性地脉冲泵浦一个包含Yb掺杂光纤和光纤光栅对的Yb光纤激光器,实现了基于增益调制技术的全光纤化高功率Yb光纤激光器的稳定脉冲输出.在50 kHz重频下,采用20 W的泵浦功率和2.4 μs的泵浦脉冲宽度,获得了1 060 nm波长脉冲宽度仅100 ns的稳定脉冲激光输出,单脉冲激光能量约为20 μJ.以此作为脉冲激光种子进行功率放大,获得了性能稳定的全光纤结构高功率脉冲激光输出,放大后单脉冲能量超过200 μJ,激光放大器斜率效率达到60%.     

355 nm nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser profile measurement, metal thin film ablation and thermal simulation

Laser ablation of nickel, gold and copper thin film on glass substrates has been investigated using a nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser operating at 355 nm in air with a Gaussian intensity profile. The exact beam profile was measured through mechanical scanning with a photodiode. A small beam defect was observed, which can affect the machining performance at higher pulse energies. The ablation thresholds of the films were calculated from the crater diameter values. The effect of the pulse repetition rate and the film thickness was also studied. At high pulse repetition rates heat accumulation was observed and the ablation threshold decreased with the film thickness. Both cases resulted in higher diameters.     

Experimental investigation of ablation efficiency and plasma expansion during femtosecond and nanosecond laser ablation of silicon

Femtosecond laser (Ti:sapphire, 100 fs pulse duration) ablation of silicon in air was compared with nanosecond laser (Nd:YAG, 3 ns pulse duration) ablation at ultraviolet wavelength (266 nm). Laser ablation efficiency was studied by measuring crater depth as a function of pulse number. For the same number of laser pulses, the fs-ablated crater was about two times deeper than the ns-crater. The temperature and electron number density of the laser-induced plasma were determined from spectroscopic measurements. The electron number density and temperature of fs-induced plasmas decreased faster than ns-induced plasmas due to different energy deposition mechanisms. Images of the laser-induced plasma were obtained with femtosecond time-resolved laser shadowgraph imaging. Plasma expansion in both the perpendicular and the lateral directions were compared. PACS 52.38.Mf; 52.30.-q     

Photoablation by UV and visible laser radiation of native and doped biological tissue

Photoablation studies of biological material (human cornea) with UV and visible laser light show that effective, apparently non-conventional thermal photoablation can be achieved by introducing energy absorbing dopants in the tissue. Previously unknown high ablation rates of 80 Gmm/pulse have been observed. The results allow one to clearly postulate different ablation mechanisms for increasing laser fluence. The results are compared with the photoablation rates observed with 193 nm UV laser light on undoped human cornea. Explosive desorption has been found the dominant process involved.     

Laser ablation of dental materials using a microsecond Nd:YAG laser

The action of microsecond laser pulses with a wavelength of 1064 nm on dental tissues (enamel and dentin) and various dental materials used for tooth replacement and filling (ceramics, metal alloys, and composites) is studied. It is demonstrated that the ablation thresholds of all of the dental materials are significantly lower than the threshold laser fluences for the dental tissue (E _thr = 200–300 J/cm²). At the laser fluences that do not allow ablation and damage of the dental tissues, the dental materials are effectively removed at a rate of no greater than 40 μm per pulse. It is shown that the laser ablation of the materials under study involves two processes (evaporation and volume explosion) depending on the optical density. The results obtained indicate that the laser radiation with a wavelength of 1064 nm and the microsecond pulse duration is promising for dental applications, since it allows effective cleaning of the tooth surface from various dental materials in the absence of the damages of dental tissues.     

Femtosecond pulsed laser ablation of thin gold film

Laser micromachining on 1000 nm-thick gold film using femtosecond laser has been studied. The laser pulses that are used for this study are 400 nm in central wavelength, 150 fs in pulse duration, and the repetition rate is 1 kHz. Plano-concave lens with a focal length of 19 mm focuses the laser beam into a spot of 3 μm (1/e² diameter). The sample was translated at a linear speed of 400 μm/s during machining. Grooves were cut on gold thin film with laser pulses of various energies. The ablation depths were measured and plotted. There are two ablation regimes. In the first regime, the cutting is very shallow and the edges are free of molten material. While in the second regime, molten material appears and the cutting edges are contaminated. The results suggest that clean and precise microstructuring can be achieved with femtosecond pulsed laser by controlling the pulse energy in the first ablation regime.     

共线双脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱技术检测铝合金中的Cr和Mn

采用两台波长1064 nm的调Q脉冲Nd ∶YAG激光器和多通道小型光纤光栅光谱仪,建立了一套共线双脉冲激光诱导击穿光谱分析装置。与单脉冲激光诱导技术相比,在最佳双脉冲时间延时8 μs时,Mn I 403.07 nm和Cr I 425.43 nm的光谱强度分别增加了14.3倍和17.2倍,以这两条谱线为分析线,铝合金中Mn和Cr的检测限分别由单脉冲时的73和94.5 μg/g降低至双脉冲时的3.76和4.26 μg/g,检测灵敏度提高了约20倍。     

An investigation on the patina of ancient bronze coins

The patina of ancient bronze coins of different historical periods (from VI cent. A.D. to X cent. A.D.) coming from different Mediterranean countries was investigated with different surface physical analyses. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements were performed by using electron emission induced by 1.4 keV X-rays. Laser ablation coupled to mass quadrupole spectrometry analyses were developed by using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser operating at 532 nm, 3 ns pulse width, 30 mJ pulse energy and 10 Hz repetition rate, coupled to a mass quadrupole spectrometer with a mass range of 1–300 amu. Laser ablation induces controllable surface layers removal in high vacuum. At present, the mass spectrometer detects chemical elements and compounds. This work, more than to solve a numismatic question, has been carried out in order to test the validity of the above experimental techniques in view to further analyse the same coins, based on better quality statistics. Preliminary results presented in this paper indicate significant differences in the chemistry of the coins patina.     

Experimental investigation into polycrystalline and single-crystal diamonds under negative pressures formed by picosecond laser pulses

Results of the experimental investigation of the spallation phenomenon in polycrystalline and single-crystal synthetic diamond are presented. The shock-wave action on the target was formed by a laser pulse with a duration of 70 ps using a Kamerton-T installation. To attain the ablation pressure of 0.66 TPa on the face surface of the target, the laser radiation of the Nd:glass laser (second harmonics λ = 527 nm, the pulse energy is 2.5 J) was used at intensity up to 2 × 10¹³ W/cm². The attained maximal spall strength of diamond σ* ～ 16.5 GPa is 24% of the theoretical ultimate strength. The Raman scattering indicates that a small amount of crystalline diamond is graphitized in the spall region on the back target side.     

Plasma-mediated ablation of biofilm contamination

Ultra-short pulsed laser removal of thin biofilm contamination on different substrates has been conducted via the use of plasma-mediated ablation. The biofilms were formed using sheep whole blood. The ablation was generated using a 1.2 ps ultra-short pulsed laser with wavelength centered at 1552 nm. The blood contamination was transformed into plasma and collected with a vacuum system. The single line ablation features have been measured. The ablation thresholds of blood contamination and bare substrates were determined. It is found that the ablation threshold of the blood contamination is lower than those of the beneath substrates including the glass slide, PDMS, and human dermal tissues. The ablation effects of different laser parameters (pulse overlap rate and pulse energy) were studied and ablation efficiency was measured. Proper ablation parameters were found to efficiently remove contamination with maximum efficiency and without damage to the substrate surface for the current laser system. Complete removal of blood contaminant from the glass substrate surface and freeze-dried dermis tissue surface was demonstrated by the USP laser ablation with repeated area scanning. No obvious thermal damage was found in the decontaminated glass and tissue samples.     

Nanosecond pulsed laser ablation of silicon in liquids

Laser fluence and laser shot number are important parameters for pulse laser based micromachining of silicon in liquids. This paper presents laser-induced ablation of silicon in liquids of the dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and the water at different applied laser fluence levels and laser shot numbers. The experimental results are conducted using 15 ns pulsed laser irradiation at 532 nm. The silicon surface morphology of the irradiated spots has an appearance as one can see in porous formation. The surface morphology exhibits a large number of cavities which indicates as bubble nucleation sites. The observed surface morphology shows that the explosive melt expulsion could be a dominant process for the laser ablation of silicon in liquids using nanosecond pulsed laser irradiation at 532 nm. Silicon surface’s ablated diameter growth was measured at different applied laser fluences and shot numbers in both liquid interfaces. A theoretical analysis suggested investigating silicon surface etching in liquid by intense multiple nanosecond laser pulses. It has been assumed that the nanosecond pulsed laser-induced silicon surface modification is due to the process of explosive melt expulsion under the action of the confined plasma-induced pressure or shock wave trapped between the silicon target and the overlying liquid. This analysis allows us to determine the effective lateral interaction zone of ablated solid target related to nanosecond pulsed laser illumination. The theoretical analysis is found in excellent agreement with the experimental measurements of silicon ablated diameter growth in the DMSO and the water interfaces. Multiple-shot laser ablation threshold of silicon is determined. Pulsed energy accumulation model is used to obtain the single-shot ablation threshold of silicon. The smaller ablation threshold value is found in the DMSO, and the incubation effect is also found to be absent.