Applications of Laser Technology - Essay Example

? Applications of Laser Technology Introduction Lasers have readily gained prominence and significance in the life of an average person in this world (Galvana, 2002, p.286). Whether it’s our industries, our medical research, surgical procedures or even defense mechanisms, lasers have gained immense importance in all of these aspects. This significance is no surprise, as the precision and accuracy that one can achieve with the help of lasers is un-matched. Due to this property of lasers, they have gained extreme significance in our major daily processes and have made our lives much simpler and accurate (Thyagarajan and Ghatak, 2010, p.471). This device has undergone centuries of modifications and up gradations to receive its current state. The term laser is actually an acronym, meaning (L) Light (A) Amplification by (S) Stimulated (E) Emission of (R) Radiation. It is a device which emits light with certain properties that makes it so important for various processes. It stimulates light, which is part of the natural electromagnetic spectrum. The light emitted by a laser device has certain properties which differentiates it from normal light emissions. The light emitted by a laser is monochromatic, that is its wavelength is extremely pure and coherent as well. The light waves emitted by the device are all in a single phase and diverge to a negligible extent. When the beam is focused on a particular point, it exceeds the brightness of the sun thus allowing it to be applicable in several significant procedures. It has taken several procedures and advancements for laser devices to reach their current status. The first actual laser was developed by a well renowned scientist Theodor Maiman who worked at the Hughes Research Laboratory. The first laser he developed was only a level 3 laser developed by a Ruby rod silvered at both ends. However, the working principles had already been derived by Albert Einstein centuries ago with the help of Plank’s laws of radiation. The working principles had been further upgraded by scientists such as Charles H. Townes who had developed a predecessor of Lasers, known as Masers which were developed by Microwaves (Galvana, 2002, p.286). With the development of lasers through time, it has been updated into several hundreds of forms. The various significant types of lasers mainly include diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) lasers, helium neon lasers, air cooled ion lasers, and semi-conductor diode lasers etc. have gained particular significance in recent years of scientific development. The application of these lasers is the biggest aspect to be considered. Medical Applications of Lasers Due to further development of science and the adjustment of lasers according to the requirement of the procedure, scientists have put lasers in use of many vital medical processes. Due to its precise, pure and accurate nature surgeries have become even further accurate and authentic. There are several procedures that include lasers as the most vital part of the entire process. The application of laser in medical processes has provided a special breakthrough in the field of optics. LASIK is an extremely important procedure that has been developed for the correction of a person’s cornea in order to cure his eye sight. LASIK stands for Laser in Situ Keratomileusis and has become one of the most renowned processes in modern times. This medical procedure basically consists of three steps. Firstly, the measurement of the cornea is noted which will be extremely important in reshaping the cornea via laser. Then the patient is sedated and his eye lids are held still with the help of a scalpel. Then with the help of the laser, which has a high pulse to pulse stability and intensity, the cornea is changed back to its stable shape. Recent advancements have been made which reduces the chance of any error due to eye movement by the reduction of the time required for the procedure (Thyagarajan and Ghatak, 2010, p.471). The use of lasers has also proved extremely vital in case of diagnostics. Endoscopy has always been a vital procedure for diagnostics for many internal body organs. However this procedure fails to perform in the diagnostics of precancerous cells. Hence, several companies collaborated to introduce the Fibered Confocal Microscopes. Laser beams are deflected by the help of deflecting mirrors and then passed through coherent fiber bundles. The laser beam is then projected over the body organ which is in need to be examined. The return laser beam passes through the same bundles and due to their coherent nature, the data in the beam is preserved which is then analyzed on a photo diode. Not only have lasers been developed for use in medical processes, but they have also proved to be vital in the manufacture of various medical devices. A process particularly famous in this aspect is Micromachining. The medical devices manufactured with the help of lasers are extremely accurate in terms of their length and width of various devices such as embolic filters, stent graphs, stents, neurological devices and precision drug delivery devices etc. Very high pulse energy lasers have been utilized recently for the manufacture of these highly sensitive devices. These lasers have been utilized in the manufacture of various mini-circuits for the analysis of disposable blood. It has also been vital in the imprinting of the logo of the designer of the medical device, which is known as unique device identification (UDI) marks. The main purpose of using lasers in micromachining is the ability of manufacturers to put micron-scale features over devices without putting the device in any sort of threat. This is the unique feature of a laser which enables it to be used in such high precision requiring processes. Lasers have also proved to be vital in many cosmetic surgeries. Some very renowned procedures among these include Skin resurfacing. This procedure includes the modification of the human skin to restore a youthful appearance of the patient. This procedure is used primarily for cosmetic surgeries and is a much shorter and less painful procedure, thus creating minimum discomfort for the patient. The same procedure has also been put in use for the removal of birth marks, burn marks and life ling scars, thus restoring the beauty of the patient prior to the accident which led to the creation of those marks. For this purpose, Carbon Dioxide ion lasers have been put in to use. The high level of precision and accuracy of the lasers has enabled them to be used in such vital medical processes. Their low cost, lesser time consumption and effective results are key factors which have contributed to their induction in the field of medical science (Thyagarajan and Ghatak, 2010, p.471). Industrial Applications of Lasers Processes such as micromachining are so important, that their perimeters of use have far extended the boundaries of medical sciences. They have gained a far more significant status in the field of industries, such as telecom industries and metallurgical industries and have positioned themselves perfectly as a vital organ of their entire procedures. Natural advantages of using laser beams such as, non-contact and zero force, no use of hardware and low thermal intensity etc. has enabled manufacturers to develop products of high precision and accuracy like never before (Galvana, 2002, p.286). Laser beams such as Excimer lasers has proved to be vital in the manufacture of devices with measurements as precise as 0.05 micrometers. Industries that require such precision includes computers and laptops, who use Excimer lasers in the fabrication of many critical equipment such as processors. The drilling of microvias (microscopic holes) in the mother board of the computer was done with the help of Excimer lasers. This procedure was first put in professional use by Siemens. Other than computers, lasers have also proven to be vital in case of drilling of ink jet printer nozzles. These nozzles are responsible for the release of droplets on the paper which imprint the command from the computer. Lower the diameter of the nozzle, higher will be the precision of the print. For such higher precision, KrF and MrF Excimer lasers have been put into use by several printer manufacturing industries. Lasers have also been put into use by industries which require high level separation techniques such as cutting and drilling over metals. In case of cutting, lasers have proven to be revolutionary. The material to be cut is heated at first, and then laser beams with temperature higher than the boiling point of the material are incident over the heated material. The molten metal which is left out in this procedure is removed with the help of a running gas which flows out along with the laser beam, thus avoiding any deformation of the material to be cut. The cutting techniques applied are different for both high-alloyed steels and low alloyed steels. In case of high-alloyed steels an inert gas is used as the cutting gas. It is referred as laser fusion cutting and has a higher laser power than usual. In case of low-alloyed steel, oxygen gas is used as the cutting gas and is referred as laser flame cutting, which receives energy for cutting mainly from the already heated material (Hitz et al, 2012, p.105). Another industrial process, drilling has gained particular boost in accuracy since the introduction of laser beams. There is a similar procedure used in all types of welding processes. A laser beam is incident over the object to be drilled. The temperature of the laser is set in such a manner that the molten metal is vaporized and hence leaves no drill marks over the original piece of metal. The depth of the drill depends upon the pulse laser radiation used for the process. Greater the pulse, higher will be the depth of the hole to be drilled. Laser beams have also been put in to use for several joining techniques. These techniques mainly include welding and soldering. The use of lasers in welding has several advantages such as high flexibility and speed, variety of the materials that have become weld-able and low heat influences which over the welded material. The materials to be joined are melted by the energy they absorb of the laser beam at the point where the two objects are to be welded. With the help of heat conduction, the object is then given proper shape. In case of soldering, laser beams have brought up precision like never before. In previous years, the circuit to be joined was usually fixed by a solder material which has a low melting point and was melted onto the broken point of the circuit in order to join the two ends again. Now diode lasers have been put in to use who’s intensity can be varied, according to the surface of the circuit to be joined, thus leaving no marks over the circuit after its soldering (Galvana, 2002, p.286). Advantages like these contribute to the achievement of such precision in products which was never seen before in modern history. Now with laser technologies, manufactured products and their repair work has become more reliable than ever and thus contribute in profiting the manufacturer at a higher extent. Defensive Applications of Lasers The use of lasers is definitely not restricted to just the manufacturing of reliable products and aid in medical aspects. Lasers have gained far more significance and have even become a vital instrument for the enhancement of defense. This defense includes national defense and even local defense authorities such as police and other institutes (Hitz et al, 2012, p.105). In case of national defense, lasers can prove to play a vital role in enhancing the naval services of a country. According to a research by the congressional research service, Lasers can prove vital as an installed device over naval shipboards. Laser devices such as SSL (Solid State Lasers) are installed over naval shipboards which have the ability to shoot down minor targets. Shooting any potential threat with one missile shot can cost nearly a million dollars, on the other hand a laser shot will hardly cost in pennies. This laser shot is extremely effective in shooting down smaller targets such as UAVs, smaller boats and aircrafts etc. not only will it protect the already finite source of shots and missiles on the shipboard but also prove to be affordable for the army (Bone, 2008, p.161). Other than these potential uses, Lasers have a significant use in tanks of the US armed forces. Each tank is equipped with a laser range finder. This device has aided tanks to locate their targets in a particular range in low visibility. The tank emits a single pulse of laser beam which on the time of reflection indicates the tank of the distance of its target. This has proved to be a vital tool for the US military in various wars. Other than tanks, mild laser beams have also been used in the modification of ballistic missiles and short range firing guns. This is extremely important as this allows the military to shoot these weapons at targets which would cause maximum strategic damage to the enemy rather than fatal damage. The laser beams that are utilized in all these weaponries are SSLs (Solid State Lasers). They are electrically powered and are used at a large scale in the automobile industries. Lasers have been put in to in Aerospace programs known as the ABL (AL-1A Airborne Laser). For this program, the Carbon Dioxide ion laser (COIL) was utilized. This entire program is aimed to locate all airborne threats to the US air force. It is an effective method as the laser emitted would bounce back from the suspect/target and provide valuable information regarding the location and physical condition of the target. It even has the ability to shoot down ready to engage ballistic missiles. Laser has proved to bring more and more accuracy in various defensive weapons and continues to do so. The use of laser has been inspired by fictional movies such as ‘Star Wars’, hence laser continues to hold a lot of future potential significance for researchers who aim to bring maximum use of lasers in various defense mechanisms (Nagabhushana et al, 2010, p.134). Significance of Laser technologies With the applications of various industrial, medical and defensive uses of lasers, one will definitely ask how this technology is so significant for all these processes. How did this technology gain so much significance in so many vital industrial, medical and defensive procedures? With the development of laser technology in medical fields, it has provided several advantages to the professionals in this field as well. In case of medical procedures such as LASIK, advance laser technology has significantly helped in reduction of the errors involved in the proper alignment of the cornea via laser. The procedure has been made far more quick and hence reduces the chances of any error caused due to the movement of the eye ball. Similar is the case with Fibered Confocal Microscope. The development of this technology has enabled doctors and specialist to discover precancerous cells which was not possible with primitive technologies such as Endoscopy. In case of face resurfacing, laser technologies have lowered the traumatic effect of the previous resurfacing surgical methods significantly and have also lowered the time required in the healing process (Hitz et al, 2012, p.105). When considering micro machinery, this technology is possibly the core founder of this field. With micro machinery surgical instruments of such precision have been developed that it has increased the degree of safety of any surgical procedure in which the instrument is involved. Similarly when this machinery is brought in use in telecom industry, it has provided a huge boost in the accuracy of instruments such as computer processors and printers, thus increasing their performance and accuracy in printing, respectively (Bone, 2008, p.161). Laser technologies have also further enhanced the separating and cutting techniques used in hardcore industries which work on metal. Now the products manufactured require no re-working, the production space has been significantly decreased and the ultimate price of the product has also been lowered. The finishing of the final product has also been enhanced at a whole new level, thus increasing the beauty of the final product. When considering the significance of this technology in defensive aspects, one must keep in mind that laser technology continues to gain more and more importance in this field. However, with its installation in tanks and various ballistic missiles, it has lowered the fatalities of any particular attack and causes maximum strategic damage to only vital military targets of the opposition. This has helped lower the loss of precious lives even in the time of war, thus bringing on an aspect of peace, even in the midst of war (Nagabhushana et al, 2010, p.134). By studying the applications and the significance of laser technology, it is evident that lasers have become an undeniable part of our lives. They have rightfully gained significance in many of our medical, industrial and military processes and continue to do so with its further development according to the needs of humanity. This is a technology that can be shaped exactly according to the need and requirement of the process it needs to be involved in. Hence, a further use and application of this technology will further aid us and help in the development of the human race into a prosperous and advance race. References Bone, J., 2008. Opportunities in Laser Technology Careers. London: McGraw-Hill Professional. Galvana, F., 2002. Ultrafast Lasers: Technology and Applications. US: CRC Press. Hitz, B., Ewing, J., Hecht, J., 2012. Introduction to Laser Technology. NY: John Wiley & Sons. Nagabhushana S. et al, 2010. Lasers and Optical Instrumentation. NJ: I. K. International Pvt. Ltd. Thyagarajan, K., Ghatak, A., 2010. Lasers: Fundamentals and Applications. London: Springer. Read More