Dermatological lasers are broadly classified as ablative or non-ablative, with tissue absorbance being a key consideration. The primary target in the Infrared (IR) spectrum is water, owing to its high absorption and its high concentration in tissues. Ablative lasers at 10 and 3μm, CO2 and Erbium:YAG lasers, respectively, leverage this characteristic effectively. Conversely, non-ablative, lasers at 1.5-2μm primarily coagulate tissues without achieving the ablation threshold. Thulium lasers are positioned around a local peak in water absorption at 1.94μm, and exhibits approximately six times lower absorption than CO2 (10.6μm) and significantly higher absorption than the 1.5μm wavelength. So far they were employed as more superficial non ablative lasers but did not achieve the ablation threshold. This study presents an innovative Tm:YAP laser at 1.94μm as an ablative laser. Employing high-energy, passively Q-switched pulses, at the nanosecond regime enables to reach the ablation threshold. The relatively high absorption characteristics at 1.94μm ensure the laser surpasses the lowered ablation threshold successfully. Experimental demonstrations on porcine skin using a fractional method showcased the creation of clean ablation micro columns. Micro columns with a remarkable thinness of up to 60μm was demonstrated. Deep column of up to 1.9mm was also observed. The 1.94μm Tm:YAP laser, as an innovative addition to the arsenal of ablative lasers, has the potential to revolutionize dermatological practices, providing a safe and reliable solution for skin treatments. Further refinement and development could open new avenues for enhancing patient care in dermatology.
We demonstrate an external-cavity KGd(WO4)2 (KGW) Raman laser, pumped by an actively Q-switch Tm:YLF MOPA. The fundamental spectral line emitting at 1881 nm allowed the KGW bi-axial crystal to lase at two separate output spectral lines, 2198 and 2265 nm, depending on the seed polarization axis relative to the KGW's axis. The Tm:YLF seed was amplified using a double-pass Tm:YLF crystal based MOPA setup. After amplification, the seed achieved an output power of 9.15 W, and an energy pulse of 4.57 mJ, a pulse duration of 43 ns at a repetition rate of 2 kHz. The max output average power achieved for the 2265 nm was 1.85 W, with a pulse energy of 0.923 mJ at a repetition rate of 2 kHz implying a conversion efficiency of ~20.5%. We noticed a very low conversion efficiency of the shorter KGW spectral shift (at 2198 nm). The reason for this efficiency drop was validated to be the 2nd stokes forming and thus consuming the 1st stokes energy. In favor of the KGW inherent properties and according to the aforementioned results, this crystal appears to be suitable for power scaling as well as for improvement of the Raman conversion efficiency in this spectral range. The KGW crystal is well known for its use in shorter spectral wavelengths. To the best of our knowledge, it is the highest average power achieved by lasing in the 2 μm region using SRS with KGW.
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