초록 ▼

A solid state laser source for surgical applications which produces short-pulse, mid-infrared radiation. Specifically, the laser preferably emits radiation near the absorption peak of water, with energy levels up to 20 mJ, pulse durations shorter than 50 ns and preferably shorter than 30 ns, with be

A solid state laser source for surgical applications which produces short-pulse, mid-infrared radiation. Specifically, the laser preferably emits radiation near the absorption peak of water, with energy levels up to 20 mJ, pulse durations shorter than 50 ns and preferably shorter than 30 ns, with beam quality of less than 8 times the diffraction limit. The short pulses reduce unwanted thermal effects and changes in adjacent tissue to potentially sub-micron levels. The laser source produces pulse repetition rates in excess of 10 Hz when pumped by a flashlamp, but in a diode pumped embodiment, the repetition rate may exceed 30 Hz. Of particular interest is an erbium-doped YAG laser which is especially well suited to the needs of mid-infrared corneal ablation procedures for correcting refractive errors, when constructed according to principles disclosed by the invention.

대표청구항 ▼

[ We claim:] [1.] A mid-infrared laser system for performing a laser surgical procedure on a tissue, said system comprising:a laser resonator cavity;a laser rod within said cavity operatively configured and adapted to produce a laser beam having a wavelength in the mid-infrared range, from about 2.5

[ We claim:] [1.] A mid-infrared laser system for performing a laser surgical procedure on a tissue, said system comprising:a laser resonator cavity;a laser rod within said cavity operatively configured and adapted to produce a laser beam having a wavelength in the mid-infrared range, from about 2.5 to about 4.0 um, and which wavelength corresponds approximately to an absorption peak of said tissue, said laser rod being pumped by a pump source; andan electro-optical Q-switch to control the oscillation of said laser beam within the resonator cavity to produce pulses of said laser beam, wherein the length of said resonator cavity is less than about 30 cm and sufficiently short to provide pulse durations shorter than 50 ns.