Abstract
Q-switched Nd:YAG laser ophthalmic microsurgery is a versatile technique to treat, in a noninvasive way, several ocular pathologies. The limits of this technique, however, are still to be clearly defined due to the high complexity of the interaction of the laser beam with the ocular media.1 We report on a wide series of experiments performed to study some physical effects which are relevant for safe effective use of this procedure: (1) The breakdown probability per laser pulse, at several irradiance levels and with the focusing conditions used in practical procedures, has been measured in liquid media currently used in eye models in fresh calf vitreous and in plastic membranes. This quantity has been found to depend exponentially on the reciprocal laser field. This indicates that, as in transparent optical solids,2,3 electron avalanche ionization is likely the main mechanism of optical breakdown also in liquids.
© 1986 Optical Society of America
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