Energy scaling in 3 micron erbium-based lasers

Laser emission in the 3-/spl mu/m region is particular interest for clinical applications because of strong absorption in liquid water and hydroxyapatite, two of the major components that account for as much as 60-80% of the bulk composition of soft and hard (i.e. bones, enamel in teeth) tissues, respectively. For surgical application, short pulses on the order of few tens of nanoseconds are desirable in order to minimize the thermal damage to the surrounding tissue. In addition to clinical applications, Q-switched 3-/spl mu/m lasers are also of great interest for some military applications where the 3-/spl mu/m lasers can act as the pump sources for OPOs to generate continuously tunable emission in the 3-14 /spl mu/m region.