(Untitled)
I had a laser safety training session today for our Class IV laser. It's surprising to discover that different wavelengths of light are absorbed, and damage, different parts of they eye. We operate in the infrared, telecommunications wavelengths, so any eye exposure would cause damage to the retna within microseconds. With a femto-second pulse
( Read more... )
Visible (400-700nm wavelength) and Infrared (>700nm)- damage to the retina
UV-A (<400nm) - damage to the lens
UV-B & UV-C (<400nm) - temporary damage to the cornea (lasts up to 12 hours)
The extent of the damage depends upon the energy of the laser, making class III and IV lasers extremely dangerous (the Ti-Sapph is a class IV). These can also cause skin damage, so class III and IV lasers have warning signs that discourage any sort of contact with the laser beam.
We use infrared wavelengths mostly because they are the telecommunications wavelengths that are currently used in radio and electrical circuits (~1550nm). Our lab focuses on fabricating silicon optical nanostructures, and silicon as a material prefers these infrared wavelengths as well. Also to consider are that effects that we study, such as SRS (Stimulated Raman Scattering), occur with very slow light and require pump modes at the infrared.
The ultimate goal of optical nanostructures is their integration into information technologies to provide faster modulation and more memory than current computers. If we do not operate around the infrared wavelengths, or with silicon, the integration will be much more difficult since the optical components will be inherently incompatible with the pre-existing electrical components such as transistors.
I appreciate the encouragement for my decision. Hope you have a good weekend.
Reply
Leave a comment