Coherent, Inc.

Cooltouch Corporation

Timothy J Johnston

Daniel K Negus

Luis A Spinelli

John Lawrence Nightingale

Dale E Koop

Mark D Selker

A laser tissue treatment device capable of being handheld, the device comprising a semiconductor diode or diode array laser which emits energy and a device for surface cooling of tissue such that the energy is directed through said cooling device in contact with tissue. The diode laser operates at wavelengths between about 630 nm and 980 nm, and delivers a predetermined amount of energy in a predetermined period of time and having a predetermined spot size. The device utilizes one or more microlenses or microlens arrays to collimate the diode laser energy. Optionally, the device utilizes a deflecting optic for deflecting the diode laser energy through the cooling device which is in contact with tissue in which the deflecting optic is visually transparent such that the operator can see the tissue treatment area. A cooling device such as a sapphire plate or other active or passive cooling means is used to cool the tissue. A method for treatment of tissue, including hair removal, with a handheld device comprises generating laser energy from a semiconductor diode laser, directing the energy through a cooling device in contact with tissue, and treating tissue with the laser energy.

Handheld photoepilation device and method

Apparatus (20) for aiming and projecting laser radiation emitted from an output-face (56) at an output-end (52) of an optical-fiber transmitter (54), includes a target (26) surrounding the output-end of the optical-fiber transmitter and held in a fixed relationship therewith. One or more light sources (46) illuminate the target with visible light such that the target directs at least a portion of the visible light in the emission direction of the laser radiation whereby when the optical-fiber transmitter is directed toward a surface, the visible light directed by the target indicates an incidence region of the laser radiation on the surface. The apparatus optionally includes an optical system (27) arranged to project a visible image (72) of the target and an image (74) of the output-face of the optical fiber transmitter. The degree of focus of the visible target-image on the surface corresponds to the degree of focus of the laser radiation on the surface.

Aiming and focussing device for fiber-transported laser radiation

A system is described for automatically maintaining the group velocity dispersion (GVD) of a Gires-Tournois interferometer (GTI) as the wavelength of incident light is varied. In the system, the transmission through the GTI is monitored by a photodiode as the wavelength is varied. The transmission through the GTI provides a measure of its GVD. Thus, the output of the photodiode can be used as a control signal for adjusting the GTI in a manner to maintain its GVD at the desired level. The subject system is illustrated in conjunction with a pulsed, tunable, Ti:sapphire laser which is passively mode locked with the optical Kerr effect. The system allows the wavelength of the laser to be tuned over the bandwidth of the gain medium while maintaining a selected level of GVD from the GTI which in turn maintains the desired duration of the pulses. In addition, the GTI is used to compensate for the dispersion effects created by broad band optics in the resonator.

System for automatically adjusting the GVD of a Gires-Tournois

A passively mode-locked laser (110) is disclosed that includes a resonant cavity (112, 114) having a gain medium (116) therein. A transmissive element (116), which may be the gain medium, is also located in the cavity and is formed from a material which varies the two-dimensional, lateral spatial profile of the beam with respect to intensity due to the Kerr effect. The resonator is arranged such that the round trip gain of the system increases with respect to the intensity of the beam so that mode-locking operation can be achieved. In one approach, the variation in the spatial profile is used to increase the extraction of energy from the gain medium. In another approach, the variation in spatial profile which occurs with an increase in intensity is used to decrease the loss in the system so that pulse operation is favored. In an illustrated embodiment, wherein the gain medium (116) is formed from titanium-sapphire, the self-phase modulation of the crystal is also used to compress the pulses into the femtosecond range. In addition, a prism set (136, 138) can be used to balance the group velocity dispersion and self-phase modulation of the gain crystal to achieve stable, soliton-like operation. In the preferred embodiment, mode-locking behavior is initiating by rotating a transmissive optical element (230, 232) located in the cavity in a manner to vary the path length of the beam.

Growing community of inventors

Mountain View, CA, United States of America

Timothy J Johnston