| abstract |
It has been found that a tunable dye laser is particularly suitable for selective photothermolysis. It is possible to obtain a longer pulse duration from the system, by modifying the laser to produce a spatially non-coherent beam. The optical system at each end of the laser cell (12), which may include a lens (28, 30) or a spherical mirror (32, 34), refocuses the opening (18, 20) of the dye cell near the 'itself, so as to return to the dye cell substantially all the light emanating from this same cell, until the light passes through one of the optical systems in the form of a non-coherent laser beam. A tunable intercavity element (31) tunes the laser across the dye solution gain curve. The pulse duration of the laser beam can be selected from a time range of up to approximately one millisecond. |