Sculpted optical silica fiber tips for use in Nd:YAG contact tip laser surgery: part 1--fabrication techniques

Anil Vaidya; James A. Harrington

doi:10.1117/12.57703

1 July 1992 Sculpted optical silica fiber tips for use in Nd:YAG contact tip laser surgery: part 1--fabrication techniques

Anil Vaidya, James A. Harrington

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Optical Engineering, Vol. 31, Issue 7, (July 1992). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.57703

Abstract

The development of sapphire tips, coupled to the distal end of silica fibers, introduced the use of a new surgical power delivery system known as contact tip surgery. An alternative medium to sapphire tips is the use of silica optical fibers with molded distal ends. We investigated a number of possible approaches for the fabrication of a variety of distal end configurations on silica fibers using an oxy-propane gas torch, arc fusion, Nd:YAG radiation, and CO₂ radiation. We fabricated seven silica contact tips that included a clear and frosted microlens, a clear and frosted ball lens, a clear and frosted conical lens, and a flat end lens. The most reliable method found to fabricate silica contact tips used a CO₂ laser because it offered complete control over the manufacturing process.

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Anil Vaidya and James A. Harrington "Sculpted optical silica fiber tips for use in Nd:YAG contact tip laser surgery: part 1--fabrication techniques," Optical Engineering 31(7), (1 July 1992). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.57703

Published: 1 July 1992

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