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This article presents a real-time noninvasive method for detecting bone and bone marrow in laser osteotomy. This is the first optical coherence tomography (OCT) implementation as an online feedback system for laser osteotomy. A deep-learning model has been trained to identify tissue types during laser ablation with a test accuracy of 96.28 %. For the hole ablation experiments, the average maximum depth of perforation and volume loss was 0.216 mm and 0.077 mm 3 , respectively. The contactless nature of OCT with the reported performance shows that it is becoming more feasible to utilize it as a real-time feedback system for laser osteotomy., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2023 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement.)

This work presents a long-range and extended depth-of-focus optical coherence tomography (OCT) system using a Bessel-like beam (BLB) as a visual feedback system during laser osteotomy. We used a swept-source OCT system ( λ c  = 1310 nm) with an imaging range of 26.2 mm in the air, integrated with a high energy microsecond Er:YAG laser operating at 2.94 µm. We demonstrated that the self-healing characteristics of the BLB could reduce the imaging artifacts that may arise during real-time monitoring of laser ablation. Furthermore, the feasibility of using long-range OCT to monitor a deep laser-induced incision is demonstrated., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement.)

Minimally invasive laser surgeries that require the use of a flexible endoscope (flexiscope) could benefit from high-energy nanosecond laser pulses delivered through fibers for real-time tissue characterization and phenotyping. The damage threshold of the fiber's glass material limits the maximum amount of deliverable peak power. To transmit high-energy pulses without damaging the fiber material, large-diameter fibers are typically used, leading to a limited bending radius. Moreover, in a large-core fiber, self-focusing can damage the fiber even if the tip remains intact. In this work, we tested a fused-end fiber bundle combined with a beam shaper capable of delivering more than 20 MW (>100 mJ/5 ns). The fiber bundle was tested over more than eight hours of operation, with different bending radiuses down to 15 mm. The results demonstrate, to the best of our knowledge, the highest peak power delivered through a flexible fiber, for a frequency-doubled Q-switched Nd:YAG laser., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement.)

The microsecond Er:YAG pulsed laser with a wavelength of λ  = 2.94  μ m has been widely used in the medical field, particularly for ablating dental tissues. Since bone and dental tissues have similar compositions, consisting of mineralized and rigid structures, the Er:YAG laser represents a promising tool for laserosteotomy applications. In this study, we explored the use of the Er:YAG laser for deep bone ablation, in an attempt to optimize its performance and identify its limitations. Tissue irrigation and the laser settings were optimized independently. We propose an automated irrigation feedback system capable of recognizing the temperature of the tissue and delivering water accordingly. The irrigation system used consists of a thin 50  μ m diameter water jet. The water jet was able to penetrate deep into the crater during ablation, with a laminar flow length of 15 cm, ensuring the irrigation of deeper layers unreachable by conventional spray systems. Once the irrigation was optimized, ablation was considered independently of the irrigation water. In this way, we could better understand and adjust the laser parameters to suit our needs. We obtained line cuts as deep as 21 mm without causing any visible thermal damage to the surrounding tissue. The automated experimental setup proposed here has the potential to support deeper and faster ablation in laserosteotomy applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement.)

A novel real-time and non-destructive method for differentiating soft from hard tissue in laser osteotomy has been introduced and tested in a closed-loop fashion. Two laser beams were combined: a low energy frequency-doubled nanosecond Nd:YAG for detecting the type of tissue, and a high energy microsecond Er:YAG for ablating bone. The working principle is based on adjusting the energy of the Nd:YAG laser until it is low enough to create a microplasma in the hard tissue only (different energies are required to create plasma in different tissue types). Analyzing the light emitted from the generated microplasma enables real-time feedback to a shutter that prevents the Er:YAG laser from ablating the soft tissue., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement.)

We report experimental demonstration of graphene mode-locked operation of ${{\rm Tm}^{3 + }}\!:\!{{\rm YLiF}_4}$Tm 3+ :YLiF 4 (YLF) and ${{\rm Tm}^{3 + }}\!:\!{{\rm KY}_3}{{\rm F}_{10}}$Tm 3+ :KY 3 F 10 (KYF) lasers near 2.3 µm. To scale up the intracavity pulse energy, the cavity was extended, and double-end pumping was employed with a continuous-wave, tunable ${{\rm Ti}^{3 + }}\!:\!{\rm sapphire}$Ti 3+ :sapphire laser delivering up to 1 W near 780 nm. The extended ${{\rm Tm}^{3 + }}\!:\!{\rm KYF}$Tm 3+ :KYF laser cavity was purged with dry nitrogen to eliminate pulsing instabilities due to atmospheric absorption lines, but this was not needed in the case of the ${{\rm Tm}^{3 + }}\!:\!{\rm YLF}$Tm 3+ :YLF laser. Once initiated by graphene, stable uninterrupted mode-locked operation could be maintained with both lasers. With the extended cavity ${{\rm Tm}^{3 + }}\!:\!{\rm YLF}$Tm 3+ :YLF laser, 921 fs pulses were generated at a repetition rate of 17.2 MHz at 2304 nm. 739 fs pulses were obtained at the repetition rate of 54 MHz from the ${{\rm Tm}^{3 + }}\!:\!{\rm KYF}$Tm 3+ :KYF laser at 2340 nm. The corresponding pulse energy and peak power were 2.4 nJ and 2.6 kW for the ${{\rm Tm}^{3 + }}\!:\!{\rm YLF}$Tm 3+ :YLF laser, and 1.2 nJ and 1.6 kW for the ${{\rm Tm}^{3 + }}\!:\!{\rm KYF}$Tm 3+ :KYF laser. We foresee that it should be possible to generate shorter pulses at higher pump levels.

We report what is to our knowledge a new source of femtosecond pulses in the mid-infrared, based on a Kerr-lens mode-locked (KLM) Tm 3+ :YLF laser at 2303 nm. An undoped ZnSe substrate was included in the resonator to provide enhanced nonlinear phase modulation during KLM operation. The Tm 3+ :YLF laser was end-pumped with a continuous-wave Ti 3+ : sapphire laser at 780 nm. With 880 mW of pump power, we generated 514-fs pulses at a pulse repetition rate of 41.5 MHz with an average power of 14.4 mW. The spectral width (full width at half-maximum) was measured as 15.4 nm, giving a time-bandwidth product of 0.44. We foresee that the wide availability of this gain medium, as well as the straightforward pumping scheme near 800 nm, will make 2.3-μm, mode-locked Tm 3+ :YLF lasers versatile sources of ultrashort pulses in the mid-infrared.

We report, what is to our knowledge, the first passively Q-switched operation of a 2.3-μm Tm 3+ :YLF laser by using a Cr 2+ :ZnSe saturable absorber. In the experiments, a tunable Ti 3+ :sapphire laser was used to end pump the Tm 3+ :YLF gain medium inside an x cavity. A Cr 2+ :ZnSe saturable absorber was also included in the cavity to initiate passive Q switching. At all pump power levels above lasing threshold, passively Q-switched operation of the Tm 3+ :YLF laser could be obtained at 2309 nm with pulse durations and repetition frequencies in the ranges of 1.2-1.4 μs and 0.3-2.1 kHz, respectively. Analysis of power dependent repetition rate data further gave an estimated value of 3.1% for the round-trip saturable loss of the Cr 2+ :ZnSe saturable absorber.

We demonstrate, what is to our knowledge, the shortest pulses directly generated to date from a solid-state laser, mode locked with a graphene saturable absorber (GSA). In the experiments, a low-threshold diode-pumped Cr 3+ :LiSAF laser was used near 850 nm. At a pump power of 275 mW provided by two pump diodes, the Cr 3+ :LiSAF laser produced nearly transform-limited, 19-fs pulses with an average output power of 8.5 mW. The repetition rate was around 107 MHz, corresponding to a pulse energy and peak power of 79 pJ and 4.2 kW, respectively. Once mode locking was initiated with the GSA, stable, uninterrupted femtosecond pulse generation could be obtained. In addition, the femtosecond output of the laser could be tuned from 836 nm to 897 nm with pulse durations in the range of 80-190 fs. We further performed detailed mode locking initiation tests across the full cavity stability range of the laser to verify that pulse generation was indeed started by the GSA and not by Kerr lens mode locking.

We report, for the first time to our knowledge, a mode-locked femtosecond Cr:LiSAF laser initiated with a high-quality monolayer graphene saturable absorber (GSA), synthesized by chemical-vapor deposition. The tight-focusing resonator architecture made it possible to operate the Cr:LiSAF laser with only two 135 mW, 660 nm low-cost single-mode diode lasers. At a pump power of 270 mW, the laser produced nearly transform-limited 68 fs pulses with an average power of 11.5 mW at 850 nm. The repetition rate was around 132 MHz, corresponding to a pulse energy and peak power of 86 pJ and 1.26 kW, respectively. Once mode locking was initiated with the GSA, stable, uninterrupted femtosecond pulse generation could be sustained for hours. The saturation fluence and the modulation depth of the GSA were further determined to be 28  μJ/cm2 and 0.62%, respectively.

We present efficient and robust Kerr-lens mode locking (KLM) of a diode-pumped Cr:LiSAF laser using a gain-matched output coupler (GMOC). An inexpensive, battery-powered 660 nm single-spatial-mode diode was used as the pump source. GMOC enhances the effective self-amplitude modulation depth by reducing the gain-filtering effect in broadband KLM operation to provide significant improvement in efficiency and robustness. Pulsing can be initiated without careful cavity alignment and is sustained for hours. 13 fs pulses with an average power of 25 mW have been generated using only 120 mW of pump power. The corresponding pulse energy and peak power is 200 pJ and 15 kW for the 126 MHz repetition rate cavity. Optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of the system is 21%, which represents an order of magnitude improvement in reported efficiencies for such diode-pumped ultrashort-pulse KLM Cr:LiSAF lasers. The obtainable pulse width is currently limited by the dispersion bandwidth of the available optics and can be potentially reduced to below 7 fs.