Passively Q-switched ceramic Nd3+:YAG lasers with ceramic Cr4+:YAG saturable absorbers are demonstrated. When the lasers are pumped by a 1-W cw laser diode, optical-optical efficiency as great as 22% is obtained with Cr4+:YAG of initial transmission ranging from 94% to 79%. The results are similar to those in their crystalline counterparts. The operation of Brewster's angle and the polarization...

To date nearly all LII is carried out using Q-switched, flashlamp pumped Nd/YAG lasers with pulse lengths ~10 ns. Although these lasers are well developed and readily available for use in the laboratory and in commercial instruments, they are bulky, inefficient and often the most costly part of an LII system. Cheaper, more compact lasers are becoming available, but very few are able to match th...

The past decade has seen a veritable explosion of research into the clinical applications of lasers in dentistry. Although lasers were once regarded as complex technology of limited use in clinical dentistry, dentists have becoming increasingly aware of the usefulness of lasers in the armamentarium of the modern dental practice, where they can be used as an adjunct or alternative to traditional...

background: based on contradictory findings concerning the use of lasers for enamel etching, the purpose of this study was to investigate the shear bond strength of teeth prepared for bonding with er-yag laser etching and compare them with phosphoric acid etching. materials and methods: in this in vitro study forty – eight premolars, extracted for orthodontic purposes were randomly divided in t...

In ophthalmology today, laser photodisruptors are used besides laser photocoagulators. Photocoagulators transform light energy into heat energy, causing microcauterisation of tissue. Photodisruptors act non-thermally by controlled cutting of the unwanted tissue, causing microexplosions. The most frequently used photodisruptors are Neodymium YAG, Holmium YAG and Erbium YAG lasers. They differ by...

An analysis of the high resolution optical spectra (at 10 or 300 K) of Sm in YAG transparent ceramics is presented. The peculiarities of the spectra in ceramics are outlined. Accurate data for the application of Sm: YAG ceramic to suppress parasitic oscillations in high power Nd: YAG ceramic composite lasers are obtained.

Ceramic laser materials have come a long way since the first demonstration of lasing in 1964. Improvements in powder synthesis and ceramic sintering as well as novel ideas have led to notable achievements. These include the first Nd:yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) ceramic laser in 1995, breaking the 1 KW mark in 2002 and then the remarkable demonstration of more than 100 KW output power from a YA...