APPLICATIONS
Pioneering Research and Development
Ultrashort Pulse Versus Continuous Wave Lasers
USP lasers and traditional continuous wave (CW) lasers differ fundamentally in the way they interact with matter, particularly in the ablation process (removal of material). A CW laser uses a process of linear excitation, generating substantial heat during ablation. The heat generated transfers to the area surrounding the target, leading to melting, material reflow or tissue charring.
USP lasers, by contrast, ablate via a non-linear process called multi-photon ionization. Due to the extreme brevity of the light pulses (typically a trillionth of a second), the energy concentrated in the ultrashort pulse produces a peak power large enough to disrupt the atomic bonds of the target material, resulting in electrostatic forces that expel material from the surface. This process happens at a rate such that the energy of the laser goes into vaporizing material before it can be converted to heat and transferred to materials near the target zone.
Advantages of Ultrashort Pulses
The extremely short pulses generated by USP lasers offer important applications benefits:
- Minimal heat is transferred from the target to surrounding material, resulting in extraordinarily clean and precise ablation.
- Ablation with micron-level resolution is easily achieved.
- The non-linear ablation mechanism is materials agnostic: any material can be ablated, including reflective and transparent materials.
- USP lasers can be utilized at lower average powers and/or energies for diagnostic and remote sensing applications.
- The short duration of the pulses and their high electric field enables precise temporal and spatial resolution for imaging/diagnostic applications. These include time-resolved optical tomography, laser image detection and ranging (LIDAR), laser detection and ranging (LADAR), and multi-photon fluorescence spectroscopy.
- Other photodynamic effects, such as stimulated gene transfection and the suppression of metabolic activity in cancer cells, have been induced via USP lasers.
Our customers include major government research labs, universities, hospitals, corporations and inventors and entrepreneurs who are exploring and developing important commercial applications for USP. Contact us today for more information on application discovery and development programs.
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