2.94 μm Er:YAG laser Q-switched with RTP Pockels cell

Author

Skorczakowski, Marek ; Nyga, Piotr ; Zajac, Andrzej ; Zendzian, Waldemar

Author_Institution

Inst. of Optoelectron., Warsaw, Poland

fYear

2003

fDate

22-27 June 2003

Firstpage

69

Abstract

In our work for the first time we have used a Q-switch based on RTP (RbTiOPO₄) crystal in the Er:YAG laser operating at 2.94 μm. This crystal is characterized by an excellent transparency up to 4.3 μm, high electrical resistivity. Moreover, it is temperature stable, is not hygroscopic and does not show piezoelectric ringing. These features cause that RTP is an ideal candidate as the effective Q-switch for Er:YAG laser. A thermally compensated (double crystal) RTP Pockels cell, in a quarter-wave configuration, operating in a transverse electrode orientation with the light propagating along the optical axis was applied in our laser. One preliminary experiment of the interaction of 2.94 μm giant laser pulses with the biological tissue was carried out. None of the thermal effects was observed in this case whereas significant coagulation was noticeable when the laser operated in free running regime.

Keywords

Pockels effect; Q-switching; biological tissues; coagulation; electrical resistivity; erbium; laser beam effects; light propagation; rubidium compounds; yttrium compounds; 2.94 micron; 4.3 micron; Er:YAG laser; Q-switching; RTP Pockels cell; RbTiOPO₄; RbTiOPO₄ crystal; YAG:Er; YAl5O12:Er; biological tissue; coagulation; electrical resistivity; hygroscopic; laser pulse interaction; light propagation; piezoelectric ringing; quarter-wave configuration; temperature stable; thermal compensation; transverse electrode orientation; Lenses; Lighting; Optical pulses; Oscilloscopes;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe, 2003. CLEO/Europe. 2003 Conference on

Print_ISBN

0-7803-7734-6

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/CLEOE.2003.1312131

Filename

1312131