This dissertation presents a study of injection seeding in Nd:YLF Q-switched oscillators for the purposes of producing single axial mode output. The objective was to develop a prototype system and determine the limiting factors which dictate successful injection seeding. The laser system consisted of a laser diode pumped monolithic miniature Nd:YLF master oscillator which seeded a conventional ...

BACKGROUND The Q-switched Nd:YAG laser was among the first non-ablative lasers to be used. High-fluence photoacoustic Q-switched laser treatments were shown to produce results akin to those seen with some ablative lasers. Previous low-fluence, non-thermal, Q-switched Nd:YAG lasers produced almost no results. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate a new combined photoacoustic/phot...

The development of blue or gray cutaneous hyperpigmentation is a rare complication of chronic imipramine therapy. Treatment options for imipramine-induced hyperpigmentation are limited but include topical retinoids, bleaching agents, and laser therapy, with varying degrees of success. We report a case in which Q-switched alexandrite laser therapy alone led to nearly complete resolution of imipr...

We investigate the performance of a hybrid Q-switched (HQS) fiber laser that is constructed with a low RF-power driven acousto-optic (AO) Q-switch and an AlGaInAs semiconductor saturable absorber. Compared to a pure passively Q-switched (PQS) fiber laser, the ratio of timing jitter to pulse period can be significantly reduced from 2% to 0.3% in the regime of far above threshold. On the other ha...

BACKGROUND Acne scarring is treatable by a variety of modalities. Ablative carbon dioxide laser (ACL), while effective, is associated with undesirable side effect profiles. Newer modalities using the principles of fractional photothermolysis (FP) produce modest results than traditional carbon dioxide (CO(2)) lasers but with fewer side effects. A novel ablative CO(2) laser device use a technique...

An analytical expression for the difference in buildup time between two longitudinal modes in a passively Q -switched laser resonator is developed and compared with experimental laser data. The results support the following temporal criterion for single-frequency, passively Q -switched operation: The difference in buildup time between any two longitudinal modes of the laser resonator should be ...