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CTH:YAG Laser Crystal - Core Application Fields
CTH:YAG Laser Crystal - Core Application Fields
The high-quality CTH:YAG (Cr:Tm:Ho:YAG) laser crystal, featuring a unique 2.1 μm (2080-2130 nm) emission wavelength, excellent room-temperature operation performance, and reliable optical-thermal stability, has been widely recognized as a core gain medium in three high-end fields. Its outstanding compatibility with various pumping methods and controllable energy output characteristics make it a key component driving technological upgrading in related industries. The detailed application scenarios, working principles, and competitive advantages are presented in bullet points as follows:
1. Medical Field (Core & Mature Application)
As the preferred gain medium for 2.1 μm medical lasers, CTH:YAG plays an irreplaceable role in minimally invasive surgery, with the core advantage that its emitted wavelength is strongly absorbed by water (60%-70% of human soft tissues) and biological tissues, enabling precise tissue ablation with minimal thermal damage to surrounding normal tissues.
• Urology applications
￮ Mainly used for laser lithotripsy (treatment of kidney stones, ureteral stones, gallstones, etc.)
￮ Laser energy generated by CTH:YAG crystal can be transmitted to the lesion site through flexible optical fibers
￮ Crushes stones into fine particles that can be excreted naturally, avoiding trauma of traditional open surgery and shortening patient recovery time
• Otolaryngology (ENT) applications
￮ Treats nasal polyps, tonsillitis, vocal cord lesions and other diseases
￮ Mild ablation effect accurately removes pathological tissues without damaging delicate mucous membranes and nerve tissues of the nasopharynx and larynx
￮ Ensures patients' postoperative vocal function and respiratory patency
• Dermatology and cosmetology applications
￮ Used for skin rejuvenation, scar repair, vascular lesion treatment and hair removal
￮ Laser energy penetrates the epidermis to act on the dermis, stimulating collagen regeneration to improve skin elasticity
￮ Breaks down melanin and blood vessel pigments to achieve spot removal and blood vessel closure effects
• Dental applications
￮ Widely used in periodontal treatment, tooth preparation and pulpitis treatment
￮ Effectively removes dental plaque and tartar in periodontal pockets, reducing gingival inflammation
￮ Precise cutting effect avoids damage to tooth enamel during tooth preparation, improving treatment comfort and safety
• Competitive advantages compared to other medical laser crystals
￮ Higher energy conversion efficiency and lower laser threshold than Ho:YAG crystals
￮ Reduces power consumption of medical laser equipment and extends service life
￮ Favored by global medical device manufacturers and hospitals
2. Laser Radar & Remote Sensing Field (High-Growth Application)
With the rapid development of intelligent transportation, aerospace and national defense security industries, CTH:YAG has become a core component due to its excellent atmospheric transmission and anti-interference performance. Its 2.1 μm wavelength is less affected by atmospheric scattering and absorption (especially in fog, haze and dust environments) than visible light and near-infrared wavelengths (e.g., 1064 nm), significantly improving detection distance and accuracy.
• Atmospheric detection remote sensing applications
￮ Used to detect the concentration of aerosols, clouds, water vapor and other atmospheric components
￮ Laser penetrates the atmosphere, and echo signals are analyzed to obtain vertical distribution and dynamic changes of atmospheric components
￮ Provides important data support for meteorological forecasting, air quality monitoring and climate change research
• Intelligent transportation applications
￮ Applied in vehicle-mounted laser radar for automatic driving systems
￮ Accurately identifies obstacles (vehicles, pedestrians, road signs), measures distance and speed
￮ Stable performance in high and low temperature environments ensures safety and reliability of automatic driving vehicles in complex weather
• National defense and military applications
￮ Used in laser rangefinders, target designators and anti-drone systems
￮ Laser features long range, high precision and strong anti-jamming, enabling rapid target locking and positioning for weapon systems
￮ Can interfere or damage electronic equipment of drones, forming an effective defense barrier
• Equipment miniaturization advantage
￮ Compatible with LD pumping, enabling miniaturization of laser radar equipment
￮ Suitable for installation in aircraft, satellites, ships and other platforms
3. Precision Material Processing Field (Emerging & Potential Application)
In the context of rapid development of new materials and high-end manufacturing, CTH:YAG shows unique advantages in precision processing of special materials. Its 2.1 μm laser has high absorption rate for water-containing materials, polymers, composite materials and biological materials, realizing non-contact, low-damage precision processing.
• Polymer material processing applications
￮ Used for micro-drilling, slitting, welding and marking of polymer components (electronic product plastic parts, medical polymer catheters, food packaging materials, etc.)
￮ Laser energy quickly melts or gasifies polymer materials without deformation or pollution
￮ Processing accuracy reaches micron level, meeting high-precision requirements of high-end product
• Water-containing material processing applications
￮ Suitable for precision cutting and shaping of hydrogels, biological tissues and agricultural products
￮ Laser energy is absorbed by water in materials, realizing rapid local heating and material separation
￮ Effectively retains activity and performance of materials, widely used in bioengineering and food processing
• Medical device processing applications
￮ Used for precision processing of minimally invasive surgical instruments (optical fiber probes, surgical scissors, stents, etc.)
￮ High precision and low damage characteristics ensure surface smoothness and dimensional accuracy of medical devices
￮ Avoids tissue damage risk caused by rough surfaces during clinical use
• Advantages compared to traditional processing method
￮ Higher efficiency, higher precision, non-contact and pollution-free compared to mechanical cutting and chemical etching
￮ Improves product processing quality and production efficiency, reduces enterprise production costs
￮ Application scenarios will be further expanded to new energy, aerospace and electronic information fields with new material technology development
