The disclosed invention relates to an improved system and method for treatment of soft tissue, e.g., for treatment of a snoring condition. The system can include a laser source; a hand piece; and a device for directing radiation emitted by the laser source to a treatment area (e.g., an oral treatment area). In some cases, the handpiece can include an optical element (e.g., a lens) mounted within a replaceable cartridge and adapted to modulate a laser beam such that it is non-ablative, prior to its delivery to a treatment region. In various embodiments, the system includes a CO2 laser capable of performing treatment in a more efficient manner than conventional techniques.

A Q-switched gas laser apparatus with bivariate pulse equalization includes a gas laser, a sensor, and an electronic circuit. A Q-switch that switches the laser resonator between high-loss and low-loss states to generate a pulsed laser beam. The sensor obtains a measurement of the pulsed laser beam indicative of the laser pulse energy. The electronic circuitry operates the Q-switch to (a) repeatedly switch the laser resonator between the high-loss and low-loss states to set a repetition rate of laser pulses of the pulsed laser beam, (b) adjust a loss level of the low-loss state, based on the pulse energy measurement, to achieve a target laser pulse energy, and (c) adjust a duration of the low-loss state to achieve a target laser pulse duration. By adjusting both pulse energy and duration, uniform pulse energy and, if desired, uniform pulse duration are achieved over a wide range of repetition rates.

Systems, apparatuses, and methods are provided for dual-pass amplification of laser beams along a common beam path. An example method can include generating a first laser beam and a second laser beam. Subsequently, the example method can include performing dual-pass amplification of the first laser beam and the second laser beam along a common beam path. In some aspects, the first laser beam can include a first wavelength, the second laser beam can include a second wavelength different from the first wavelength.

A method for manufacturing a printed wiring board includes preparing an intermediate substrate including an insulating layer, a conductor layer including circuits, and a first resin insulating layer, inputting, to a laser processing machine that forms openings, positions of the openings, generating, based on analysis of the conductor layer, classification of the circuits, inputting, to the machine, shot numbers for forming the openings determined based on the classification, and executing the machine based on the positions and shot numbers such that the openings are formed. The circuits include power supply, ground, and signal circuits, the classification includes stratifying such that the power supply and ground circuits belong to the first category and the signal circuits belong to the second category, and the inputting includes setting the shot number for the openings belonging to the first category is smaller than the shot number for the openings belonging to the second category.

An optical source for a photolithography tool includes a source configured to emit a first beam of light and a second beam of light, the first beam of light having a first wavelength, and the second beam of light having a second wavelength, the first and second wavelengths being different; an amplifier configured to amplify the first beam of light and the second beam of light to produce, respectively, a first amplified light beam and a second amplified light beam; and an optical isolator between the source and the amplifier, the optical isolator including: a plurality of dichroic optical elements, and an optical modulator between two of the dichroic optical elements.

The present disclosure provides a method for aligning a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) system. The method includes ramping up a pumping power input into a laser amplifier chain of the MOPA system until the pumping power input reaches an operational pumping power input level; adjusting a seed laser power output of a seed laser of the MOPA system until the seed laser power output is at a first level below an operational seed laser power output level; and performing a first optical alignment process to the MOPA system while the pumping power input is at the operational pumping power input level, the seed laser power output is at the first level, and the MOPA system reaches a steady operational thermal state.

A laser apparatus may include: a quantum cascade laser outputting, based on a supplied current, laser light at an oscillation start timing when a first delay time elapses from a current rising timing of the supplied current: an amplifier disposed in a laser light optical path, and selectively amplifying light of a predetermined wavelength to output the amplified laser light to a chamber including a plasma generation region into which a target is fed; and a laser controller controlling a third delay time, from an output timing of a laser output instruction to the current rising timing, to cause a laser light wavelength to be equal to the predetermined wavelength at an aimed timing when a second delay time elapses from the oscillation start timing, based on oscillation parameters including the first delay time, a supplied current waveform, and a device temperature of the quantum cascade laser.

A laser system for amplifying laser light generated from a laser light source and emitting the laser light includes an optical element in an optical path of the laser light and transmits the laser light, a control device to control power to be supplied to the laser system, an imager to capture an image of the optical element, and an image processing circuitry to process the image of the optical element captured by the imager. The image processing circuitry in which reference images of the optical element corresponding to power information relating to the power are prepared in advance includes a comparison unit to compare a captured image of the optical element captured by the imager with a reference image selected by a reference image selection unit, the reference image corresponding to the power information at a time of image capturing by the imager.

A laser apparatus may include a beam splitter configured to split a pulse laser beam into a first beam path and a second beam path, an optical sensor provided in the first beam path, an amplifier including an amplification region provided in the second beam path and being configured to amplify and emit the pulse laser beam incident thereon along the second beam path, a wavefront controller provided in the second beam path between the beam splitter and the amplifier, and a processor configured to receive an output signal from the optical sensor and transmit a control signal to the wavefront controller.

The system and method for a scalable optically pumped CO.sub.2 laser. The optically pumped CO.sub.2 laser having a Tm fiber laser configured to pump a Q-switched Ho laser that is configured to pump a molecular isotopologue mix of CO.sub.2 above atmospheric pressure, to produce a broadband, high energy, tunable output beam.