Morgan S. Schmidt

A narrow-band speckle-free light source via random Raman lasing

Currently, no light source exists which is both narrowband and speckle free with sufficient brightness for full-field imaging applications. Light-emitting diodes are excellent spatially incoherent sources, but are tens of nanometers broad. Lasers, on the other hand, can produce very narrow-band light, but suffer from high spatial coherence which leads to speckle patterns, which distort the image. Here, we propose the use of random Raman laser emission as a new kind of light source capable of providing short-pulsed narrow-band speckle-free illumination for imaging applications.

Trends in melanosome microcavitation thresholds for nanosecond pulse exposures in the near infrared

Abstract. Thresholds for microcavitation of bovine and porcine melanosomes were determined using nanosecond laser pulses in the near-infrared (1000 to 1319 nm) wavelength regime. Isolated melanosomes were irradiated by single pulses (10 or 50 ns) using a Q-switched Spectra Physics Nd:YAG laser coupled with an optical parametric oscillator (1000 to 1200 nm) or a continuum laser at 1319 nm. Time-resolved nanosecond strobe photography after the arrival of the irradiation beam allowed imaging of microcavitation events. Average fluence thresholds for microcavitation increased nonlinearly with increasing wavelength from ∼0.5  J/cm2 at 1000 nm to 2.6  J/cm2 at 1319 nm. Fluence thresholds were also measured for 10-ns pulses at 532 nm and found to be comparable to visible nanosecond pulse values published in previous reports. Calculated melanosome absorption coefficients decreased from 925  cm−1 at 1000 nm to 176  cm−1 at 1319 nm. This trend was found to be comparable to the decrease in retinal pigmented epithelial layer absorption coefficients reported over the same wavelength region. Estimated corneal total intraocular energy retinal damage threshold values were determined in order to compare to current and proposed maximum permissible exposure (MPE) safe levels. Results from this study support recently proposed changes to the MPE levels.

Trends in nanosecond melanosome microcavitation up to 1540 nm

Abstract. Thresholds for microcavitation of bovine and porcine melanosomes were previously reported, using single nanosecond (ns) laser pulses in the visible (532 nm) and the near-infrared (NIR) from 1000 to 1319 nm. Here, we report average radiant exposure thresholds for bovine melanosome microcavitation at additional NIR wavelengths up to 1540 nm, which range from ∼0.159  J/cm2 at 800 nm to 4.5  J/cm2 at 1540 nm. Melanosome absorption coefficients were also estimated, and decreased with increasing wavelength. These values were compared to retinal pigment epithelium coefficients, and to water absorption, over the same wavelength range. Corneal total intraocular energy retinal damage threshold values were estimated and compared to the previous (2007) and recently changed (2014) maximum permissible exposure (MPE) safe levels. Results provide additional data that support the recent changes to the MPE levels, as well as the first microcavitation data at 1540 nm, a wavelength for which melanosome microcavitation may be an ns-pulse skin damage mechanism.

Direct numerical simulation of the initial stage of a thermally induced microcavitation in a water-rich biotissue triggered by a nanosecond pulsed laser

Abstract. A numerical analysis capable of describing the early stage of a thermal microcavitation process in a water-rich biotissue without avalanche breakdown was developed. The analysis successfully reproduced the laser-induced heating, vapor bubble formation, bubble expansion, and shockwave propagation inside a water-rich biotissue during a thermal microcavitation process. Based on the analysis, it was determined that the evolution of the temperature, pressure, and laser-induced shockwave is dependent on the incident laser energy and laser pulse width. On the other hand, the early stage dynamics of the microcavitation process showed little dependence on the elastic modulus of the biotissue for the laser and tissue conditions studied.

Temperature dependence of nanosecond laser pulse thresholds of melanosome and microsphere microcavitation

Abstract. Melanosome microcavitation is the threshold-level retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) damage mechanism for nanosecond (ns) pulse exposures in the visible and near-infrared (NIR). Thresholds for microcavitation of isolated bovine RPE melanosomes were determined as a function of temperature (20 to 85°C) using single ns laser pulses at 532 and 1064 nm. Melanosomes were irradiated using a 1064-nm Q-switched Nd:YAG (doubled for 532-nm irradiation). For comparison to melanosome data, a similar temperature (20 to 65°C) dependence study was also performed for 532 nm, ns pulse exposures of black polystyrene microbeads. Results indicated a decrease in the microcavitation average radiant exposure threshold with increasing sample temperature for both 532- and 1064-nm single pulse exposures of melanosomes and microbeads. Threshold data and extrapolated nucleation temperatures were used to estimate melanosome absorption coefficients in the visible and NIR, and microbead absorption coefficients in the visible, indicating that melanin is a better absorber of visible light than black polystyrene. The NIR melanosome absorption coefficients ranged from 3713  cm−1 at 800 nm to 222  cm−1 at 1319 nm. These data represent the first temperature-dependent melanosome microcavitation study in the NIR and provide additional information for understanding melanosome microcavitation threshold dependence on wavelength and ambient temperature.

Temperature dependence of melanosome microcavitation thresholds produced by single nanosecond laser pulses

Thresholds for microcavitation of isolated bovine retinal melanosomes were determined as a function of temperature using single nanosecond laser pulses at 532 nm and 1064 nm. Melanosomes were irradiated using a 1064-nm Qswitched Nd:YAG (doubled for 532-nm irradiation). Time-resolved microscopy was accomplished by varying the delay between the irradiation beam and an illumination beam allowing stroboscopic imaging of microcavitation events. Results indicated a decrease in microcavitation fluence threshold with increasing sample temperature for both 532-nm and 1064-nm single pulse exposures. The nucleation temperature at both wavelengths was extrapolated through the linear relationship between the temperature increases and the decrease in fluence threshold. In addition, absorption coefficients of melanosomes for visible and near-infrared wavelengths were estimated using the calculated nucleation temperatures.

Porcine skin damage thresholds for pulsed nanosecond-scale laser exposure at 1064-nm

Pulsed high-energy lasers operating in the near-infrared (NIR) band are increasingly being used in medical, industrial, and military applications, but there are little available experimental data to characterize their hazardous effects on skin tissue. The current American National Standard for the Safe Use of Lasers (ANSI Z136.1-2014) defines the maximum permissible exposure (MPE) on the skin as either a single-pulse or total exposure time limit. This study determined the minimum visible lesion (MVL) damage thresholds in Yucatan miniature pig skin for the single-pulse case and several multiple-pulse cases over a wide range of pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) (10, 125, 2,000, and 10,000 Hz) utilizing nanosecond-scale pulses (10 or 60 ns). The thresholds are expressed in terms of the median effective dose (ED50) based on varying individual pulse energy with other laser parameters held constant. The results confirm a decrease in MVL threshold as PRF increases for exposures with a constant number of pulses, while also noting a PRF-dependent change in the threshold as a function of the number of pulses. Furthermore, this study highlights a change in damage mechanism to the skin from melanin-mediated photomechanical events at high irradiance levels and few numbers of pulses to bulk tissue photothermal additivity at lower irradiance levels and greater numbers of pulses. The observed trends exceeded the existing exposure limits by an average factor of 9.1 in the photothermally-damaged cases and 3.6 in the photomechanicallydamaged cases.

Direct numerical simulation of microcavitation processes in different bio environments

Laser-induced microcavitation refers to the rapid formation and expansion of a vapor bubble inside the bio-tissue when it is exposed to intense, pulsed laser energy. With the associated microscale dissection occurring within the tissue, laserinduced microcavitation is a common approach for high precision bio-surgeries. For example, laser-induced microcavitation is used for laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) to precisely reshape the midstromal corneal tissue through excimer laser beam. Multiple efforts over the last several years have observed unique characteristics of microcavitions in biotissues. For example, it was found that the threshold energy for microcavitation can be significantly reduced when the size of the biostructure is increased. Also, it was found that the dynamics of microcavitation are significantly affected by the elastic modules of the bio-tissue. However, these efforts have not focused on the early events during microcavitation development. In this study, a direct numerical simulation of the microcavitation process based on equation of state of the biotissue was established. With the direct numerical simulation, we were able to reproduce the dynamics of microcavitation in water-rich bio tissues. Additionally, an experimental setup in deionized water and 10% PAA gel was made to verify the results of the simulation for early micro-cavitation formation for 10% Polyacrylamide (PAA) gel in deionized water.

Multiple-pulse skin damage thresholds at 1070 NM

As solid-state laser technology continues to mature, high-energy lasers operating in the near-infrared (NIR) band are increasingly being utilized in manufacturing, medical, and military applications. Guidelines for the safe use of these systems have been established as formulations of maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limits for a given set of laser parameters, based on past experimental studies of exposure thresholds causing injury to the skin and eyes. However, in the case of skin, these formulations do not take into account the pulse characteristics of the exposure and only utilize the total exposure duration when calculating the MPE. The purpose of this study was to characterize the skin response to multiple-pulsed high-energy laser exposure at the NIR wavelength of 1070 nm, at a constant beam diameter of 1 cm, and using anesthetized Yucatan mini-pig subjects. A constant total laser-on time was explored as single- and multiple-pulse sequences. Multiple-pulse exposures had identical individual pulse durations, and different duty cycles were employed in order to characterize the effect of variable thermal additivity. Skin damage was quantified by the minimally visible lesion (MVL) metric as judged by a plurality of three observers at the 24-hour interval post-exposure. Injury thresholds for all exposure conditions were calculated as the median effective dose (ED50), based on varying laser power across subjects. The results of this study will provide a quantitative basis for the incorporation of multiple-pulsed laser exposure into existing standards and augment data contained in the existing ED50 database.As solid-state laser technology continues to mature, high-energy lasers operating in the near-infrared (NIR) band are increasingly being utilized in manufacturing, medical, and military applications. Guidelines for the safe use of these systems have been established as formulations of maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limits for a given set of laser parameters, based on past experimental studies of exposure thresholds causing injury to the skin and eyes. However, in the case of skin, these formulations do not take into account the pulse characteristics of the exposure and only utilize the total exposure duration when calculating the MPE. The purpose of this study was to characterize the skin response to multiple-pulsed high-energy laser exposure at the NIR wavelength of 1070 nm, at a constant beam diameter of 1 cm, and using anesthetized Yucatan mini-pig subjects. A constant total laser-on time was explored as single- and multiple-pulse sequences. Multiple-pulse exposures had identical individual pulse d...

Spatial coherence of random Raman lasing emission

Random Raman laser emission is demonstrated to be an excellent source of narrow-band, high intensity, short duration light for speckle-free imaging. Spatial coherence measurement and strobe photography of cavitation bubbles are presented.