Pulsed micro-chip laser for malaria detection
AssigneeMasimo Corporation
InventorsDmitri O. Lapotko, Aidas Aleknavicius
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Abstract
A laser suitable for use under field conditions to generate pulsed laser for detecting malaria using transient vapor nanobubbles can include a frequency doubled passively Q-switched microchip laser. The passively Q-switched microchip lasers can include suppression techniques for the unwanted fundamental wavelength in addition to using anti-reflective coatings. The pulsed laser disclosed herein can generate pulses with a high peak power as a result of high energy in conjunction with short pulse duration in the range of hundreds of picoseconds. The high peak power can be enough to generate the photo-thermal transient vapor nanobubbles for malaria detection and/or treatment.
Claims20
A passively Q-switched microchip laser configured for generating transient vapor nanobubbles around malaria-specific nanoparticles in a human, the laser comprising:
- a laser cavity bound by a reflector and an optical coupler;
- a gain element located in the laser cavity, the gain element having a first axis, a first gain element surface, and a second gain element surface, the first gain element surface being adjacent to one of the reflector or the optical coupler;
- a saturable absorber element in the laser cavity, the saturable absorber element having a second axis, a first saturable absorber element surface, and a second saturable absorber element surface, the first saturable absorber element surface being adjacent to another one of the reflector or the optical coupler,
- wherein, in response to pumping energy at a predetermined pumping wavelength, the gain element is configured to produce simulated emission of at least a first wavelength and a second wavelength, wherein a simulated emission cross-section of the second wavelength is greater than a simulated emission cross-section of the first wavelength, wherein the second wavelength is a fundamental wavelength,
- wherein the passively Q-switched microchip laser further comprises one or more fundamental wavelength suppression features such that the saturable absorber element is configured to output a pulsed laser beam substantially of the first wavelength.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.