Development and application of fiber lasers for medical applications

Mark C. Pierce; Stuart D. Jackson; Paul S. Golding; Ben Dickinson; Mark Russell Dickinson; Terence A. King; Philip Sloan

doi:10.1117/12.427916

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4 June 2001 Development and application of fiber lasers for medical applications

Mark C. Pierce; Stuart D. Jackson; Paul S. Golding; Ben Dickinson; Mark Russell Dickinson; Terence A. King; Philip Sloan

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Proceedings Volume 4253, Optical Fibers and Sensors for Medical Applications; (2001) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.427916
Event: BiOS 2001 The International Symposium on Biomedical Optics, 2001, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Recent progress in fiber laser technology has provided lasers operating at mid-infrared wavelengths, at power levels and temporal regimes previously inaccessible to bulk crystal lasers. This paper reports on the development of new continuous wave fiber lasers; a Tm-silica fiber laser operating at 1.98 micrometers , an Er,Pr:ZBLAN fiber laser at 2.78 micrometers and a Yb:Er-silica fiber laser at 1.5 micrometers , and pulsed fiber laser sources; gain-switched and Q-switched Tm- silica systems, specifically targeting applications in medicine. The first studies on the interaction of high- power, continuous wave mid-infrared fiber laser light and soft biological tissues are presented, demonstrating the ability of 2 and 3 micrometers fiber lasers to remove soft tissue cleanly, and with minimum collateral damage.

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Mark C. Pierce, Stuart D. Jackson, Paul S. Golding, Ben Dickinson, Mark Russell Dickinson, Terence A. King, and Philip Sloan "Development and application of fiber lasers for medical applications", Proc. SPIE 4253, Optical Fibers and Sensors for Medical Applications, (4 June 2001); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.427916