Ultrashort pulse high repetition rate laser system for biological tissue processing
DCFirst Claim
1. A method for selective material removal processing comprising:
- providing a pulsed laser;
operating said laser so as to produce a pulsed output beam, the beam comprising individual pulses each having a pulse duration in the range of from about 1 femtosecond to about 100 picoseconds;
directing said pulsed output beam onto a target material from which removal is desired, wherein each pulse interacts with a thin layer portion of said material so as to form a plasma;
allowing said formed plasma to decay, such that said material portion is removed; and
repeating said plasma formation step at a pulse repetition rate greater than 10 pulses per second until a sufficient depth of material has been removed with substantially no transfer of thermal or mechanical energy into the remaining material and substantially no collateral damage thereto.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus is disclosed for fast, efficient, precise and damage-free biological tissue removal using an ultrashort pulse duration laser system operating at high pulse repetition rates. The duration of each laser pulse is on the order of about 1 fs to less than 50 ps such that energy deposition is localized in a small depth and occurs before significant hydrodynamic motion and thermal conduction, leading to collateral damage, can take place. The depth of material removed per pulse is on the order of about 1 micrometer, and the minimal thermal and mechanical effects associated with this ablation method allows for high repetition rate operation, in the region 10 to over 1000 Hertz, which, in turn, achieves high material removal rates. The input laser energy per ablated volume of tissue is small, and the energy density required to ablate material decreases with decreasing pulse width. The ablation threshold and ablation rate are only weakly dependent on tissue type and condition, allowing for maximum flexibility of use in various biological tissue removal applications. The use of a chirped-pulse amplified Titanium-doped sapphire laser is disclosed as the source in one embodiment.
585 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for selective material removal processing comprising:
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providing a pulsed laser; operating said laser so as to produce a pulsed output beam, the beam comprising individual pulses each having a pulse duration in the range of from about 1 femtosecond to about 100 picoseconds; directing said pulsed output beam onto a target material from which removal is desired, wherein each pulse interacts with a thin layer portion of said material so as to form a plasma; allowing said formed plasma to decay, such that said material portion is removed; and repeating said plasma formation step at a pulse repetition rate greater than 10 pulses per second until a sufficient depth of material has been removed with substantially no transfer of thermal or mechanical energy into the remaining material and substantially no collateral damage thereto. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A laser system adapted for selective material removal processing, the system comprising:
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a laser operative so as to produce a pulsed output beam, the beam comprising individual pulses each pulse having a pulse duration in the range of from about 1 femtosecond to about 100 picoseconds, the pulses being provided by the beam at a pulse repetition rate of greater than about 10 pulses per second; and means for directing the pulsed output beam onto a target material from which removal is desired, wherein each pulse interacts with a thin layer portion of said material so as to form a plasma, each successive pulse forming an additional plasma until a sufficient amount of material has been removed with substantially no transfer of thermal or mechanical energy into the remaining material and substantially no collateral damage thereto. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification