Watanabe Tomonori, Matsuura Yuji
Department of Electrical Communications, Tohoku University, 05 Aoba, Aramaki, Sendai 980-8579, Japan.
Lasers Surg Med. 2006 Sep;38(8):792-7. doi: 10.1002/lsm.20386.
Hollow optical fibers are useful for delivery of high-energy infrared laser beam such as Er:YAG lasers. We propose side-firing optics for hollow optical fibers for laser endoscopic applications mainly in oto-rhino-laryngology and urology.
STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: To produce a circular beam, cone-shaped caps are designed and caps with slanted end are proposed for producing a spot beam in side direction. Both types of caps are fabricated by fusing and polished Pyrex and silica glass tubes.
For the both of the cone-shaped and slanted-end caps effectively deflect laser beam as designed and these caps show high durability for Er:YAG laser light with pulse energy higher than 100 mJ.
By choosing the proper shape of the cap ends, these caps deflect an input laser beam to a preferred direction at low insertion losses. By using these side-firing optics, one can easily irradiate the inside of tubular organs.
中空光纤可用于传输高能红外激光束，如铒：钇铝石榴石激光。我们提出了用于中空光纤的侧向发射光学器件，主要应用于激光内镜，尤其是耳鼻喉科和泌尿外科。
研究设计/材料与方法：为产生圆形光束，设计了锥形帽，并提出了带有倾斜端部的帽，用于在侧向产生光斑光束。这两种帽均通过熔合和抛光派热克斯玻璃管和石英玻璃管制成。
对于锥形帽和倾斜端部帽，均能按设计有效地使激光束偏转，并且这些帽对于脉冲能量高于100 mJ的铒：钇铝石榴石激光显示出高耐久性。
通过选择帽端的适当形状，这些帽能以低插入损耗将输入激光束偏转到优选方向。通过使用这些侧向发射光学器件，人们可以轻松地照射管状器官内部。
