USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Charles L Marquardt

Leon Esterowitz

John F Giuliani

Gregory J Quarles

Leon Estrowitz

A dual wavelength surgical laser system for performing laser surgery on living tissue with a minimum amount of collateral tissue damage is disclosed. The dual wavelength surgical laser system comprises: a pump laser for emitting pump laser pulses of light at a preselected pump wavelength; an optical parametric oscillator responsive to each pump pulse from the pump laser for producing a first wavelength pulse of light in a water absorption band of the tissue and a second wavelength pulse of light in a protein absorption band of the tissue; a first set of optics for only passing therethrough each first wavelength pulse from the optical parametric oscillator; an optical delay line for delaying each first wavelength pulse from the first set of optics by a predetermined period of time; a second set of optics for only passing therethrough each second wavelength pulse from the optical parametric oscillator; and a beam combiner for combining each second wavelength pulse with the following delayed first wavelength pulse to form a stream of consecutive second and delayed first pulse pairs for application to the tissue.

Dual wavelength surgical laser system

A method for producing divalent scandium includes heating, at a mildly elted temperature above 20.degree. C. under reduced pressure, a calcium difluoride crystal sample doped with scandium trifluoride to drive off atmospheric impurities, heating at an intermediate temperature above 150.degree. C. calcium metal under reduced pressure to drive off volatile impurities, heating calcium metal at a migrating below 900.degree. C. to evaporate calcium and to deposit it on the sample, and heating the sample at a diffusion and reaction temperature below 950.degree. C. to diffuse calcium into the sample and to cause formation of the divalent scandium.

Process for producing stable divalent scandium

A room temperature solid state laser for producing a laser emission at a wavelength of substantially 2 microns is disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, the laser comprises: a laser crystal having a host crystal material doped with an effective percent concentration of CR.sup.3+ sensitizer ions and with an effective percent concentraton of Tm.sup.3+ activator ions; and a flashpump for exciting the laser crystal to produce a laser emission at substantially 2 microns at a slope efficiency of at least 2 percent.

Room-temperature, flashpumped, 2 micron solid state laser with high

An impurity concentration profile is established in a solid by attaching solid to a heat sink and irradiating it with one or more fast laser pulses. The impurity may initially be located in a surface layer or it may be dispersed throughout the solid.

Growing community of inventors

Great Falls, VA, United States of America

Charles L Marquardt