Laser ablation threshold dependence on pulse duration for fused silica and corneal tissues: experiments and modeling

Abstract

The surface ablation threshold fluence of fused silica and two porcine cornea layers, the epithelium and the stroma, is characterized as a function of the laser pulse duration in the range of $100\mathrm{fs}–5\mathrm{ps}$ for a wavelength of $800\mathrm{nm}$ (Ti:sapphire laser system). The plateaulike region observed between $100\mathrm{fs}$ and $1\mathrm{ps}$ for the corneal layers indicates that for use in laser surgery, laser pulse durations chosen within this range should be practically equivalent. Our model predicts that the ablation threshold will decrease rapidly for pulse durations in the low end of the femtosecond regime.

© 2007 Optical Society of America