Abstract: An optical apparatus for a lithography system comprises at least one optical element comprising an optical surface. The optical apparatus also comprises one or more actuators for deforming the optical surface. A strain gauge device is provided for determining the deformation of the optical surface. The strain gauge device comprises at least one optical fiber that maintains polarization.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a laser system for eye surgery with an eye-surgical laser apparatus and with a set of interface devices. The invention further relates to the laser apparatus itself, to the set of interface devices itself, to the use of the set and also to a method for laser-surgical eye treatment.

Abstract: In certain embodiments, a laser device for laser processing of an eye comprises a source of a pulsed laser beam, a detector system that photodetects partial beams generated from the laser beam, and a control unit that evaluates the detection signals. A first detection element of the detector system provides a first detection signal based on single-photon absorption. A second detection element provides a second detection signal based on two-photon absorption. The control unit puts the measured signal strengths of the two detection signals into a ratio to one another. Variations in the resulting ratio value may be traced back to variations in the pulse duration and/or wave front of the laser beam. The control unit may initiate countermeasures to maintain the beam quality of the laser beam.

Abstract: A diagnosis system and a diagnosis method are provided. More specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a diagnosis system for detection of corneal degeneration impacting the biomechanical stability of the human cornea and a diagnosis method for detection of corneal degeneration impacting the biomechanical stability of the human cornea. Still more specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a diagnosis system for early detection of corneal degeneration impacting the biomechanical stability of the human cornea and a diagnosis method for early detection of corneal degeneration impacting the biomechanical stability of the human cornea.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a laser system for eye surgery with an eye-surgical laser apparatus and with a set of interface devices. The invention further relates to the laser apparatus itself, to the set of interface devices itself, to the use of the set and also to a method for laser-surgical eye treatment.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a method and apparatus for laser-processing a material. In the embodiments, a diffraction-limited beam of pulsed laser radiation is diffracted by a diffraction device to generate a diffracted beam. The diffracted beam is subsequently focused onto the material and is controlled in time and space to irradiate the material at a target position with radiation from a set of radiation pulses of the diffracted beam so that each radiation pulse from the set of radiation pulses is incident at the target position with a cross-sectional portion of the diffracted beam, the cross-sectional portion including a local intensity maximum of the diffracted beam. The beam cross-sectional portions of at least a subset of the pulses of the set include each a different local intensity maxi-mum. In this way, a multi-pulse application for generating a photo-disruption at a target location of the material can be implemented.

Abstract: In certain embodiments, a laser device for laser processing of an eye comprises a source of a pulsed laser beam, a detector system that photodetects partial beams generated from the laser beam, and a control unit that evaluates the detection signals. A first detection element of the detector system provides a first detection signal based on single-photon absorption. A second detection element provides a second detection signal based on two-photon absorption. The control unit puts the measured signal strengths of the two detection signals into a ratio to one another. Variations in the resulting ratio value may be traced back to variations in the pulse duration and/or wave front of the laser beam. The control unit may initiate countermeasures to maintain the beam quality of the laser beam.

Abstract: An apparatus for LASIK is equipped with the following: a first laser radiation source for generating first laser radiation pulses; first means for guiding and shaping the first laser radiation pulses; a second laser radiation source for generating second laser radiation pulses; second means for guiding and shaping the second laser radiation pulses; a controller with: a first treatment program for controlling the first means and the first laser radiation pulses for the purpose of producing an incision in the cornea, the first treatment program generating regular corneal surface structures; a second treatment program for controlling the second means and the second laser radiation pulses for the purpose of reshaping the cornea and changing its imaging properties; and a third treatment program which controls the second means and the second laser radiation pulses for the purpose of removing the aforementioned regular structures.

Abstract: A laser apparatus is controlled by a control program that operates to use laser radiation to generate an incision figure in the cornea of an eye, the incision figure including an incision that bounds a corneal tissue volume. The control program operates to move the radiation focus in a radiation propagation direction successively in a plurality of superposed planes such that the radiation focus is moved without motion control in the propagation direction. The control program provides, for each plane, for a meandering scan path of the radiation focus that extends outside the tissue volume. The control program operates to allow through to the eye, in each plane, at least such radiation pulses that generate the first incision and to blank, in at least a fraction of the planes, at least a fraction of radiation pulses assigned to regions of the path that are at a distance from the incision.

Abstract: An apparatus for laser-assisted eye treatment comprises a laser device and first and second accessory modules. The laser device is configured to provide focused laser radiation and has a coupling port. The first accessory module may form a patient interface and has a contact surface for an eye. The second accessory module includes a measuring device that performs measurements of the laser radiation. In certain embodiments, the measurements include the measurement of a pulse duration of the laser radiation using a detector operating on the basis of two-photon absorption. The first and second accessory modules are configured to detachably couple to the laser device at the coupling port. Only one accessory module can be coupled to the coupling port at a time. Therefore, the first accessory module must be removed from the coupling port before the second accessory module can be attached to the coupling port.

Abstract: In certain embodiments, a system (10) comprises a laser source (20), one or more optical elements (24), a monitoring device (28), and a control computer (30). The laser source (20) emits one or more laser pulses. The optical elements (24) change a pulse length of the laser pulses, and the monitoring device (28) measures the pulse length of the laser pulses to detect the change in the pulse length. The control computer (30) receives the measured pulse length from the monitoring device (28), determines one or more laser parameters that compensate for the change in the pulse length, and controls the laser source (20) according to the laser parameters.

Abstract: In an embodiment, a laser apparatus comprises a semiconductor laser, e.g., of the VECSEL type, for generating pulsed laser radiation having a pulse duration in the femtosecond range or shorter and having a pulse repetition rate of at least 100 MHz; a selector for selecting groups of pulses from the laser radiation, each pulse group comprising a plurality of pulses at the pulse repetition rate, wherein the pulse groups are time-displaced by at least 500 ns; a scanner device for scanning a focal point of the laser radiation; a controller for controlling the scanner device based on a control program including instructions that, when executed by the controller, bring about the creation of a LIOB-based photodisruption for each pulse group in a target material, e.g. human eye tissue.

Abstract: A method and system for instantaneous time domain optical coherence tomography (iTD-OCT) provides instantaneous optical depth profiles in an axial direction to a sample having scattering properties or that is at least partially reflective. An iTD-OCT instrument includes a spectroscopic detector having an internal optical axis and an array of detector pixels. A reference beam having a fixed optical path length is superpositioned along the optical axis with a measurement beam that includes back-scattered photons from the sample. The detector pixels capture a time domain interference pattern arising within the spectroscopic detector due to optical path length differences between photons from the reference beam and photons from the measurement beam. The iTD-OCT instrument may be implemented as a robust solid-state device with no moving parts.

Abstract: A method and system for generating femtosecond (fs) ultraviolet (UV) laser pulses enables stabile, robust, and optically efficient generation of third harmonic fs laser pulses using periodically-poled quasi-phase-matched crystals. The crystals have different numbers of periodically poled crystalline layers that enable a long conversion length without back-conversion and without a special phase-matching direction. The fs UV laser may have a high conversion efficiency and may be suitable for high power operation.

Abstract: A method and system for performing biomechanical diagnosis of eye disease may include a Brillouin light source to generate a Brillouin sample beam, and a second harmonic generation (SHG) light source to generate an SHG sample beam. Both the Brillouin sample beam and the SHG sample beam may be coincidentally directed to a biological tissue sample in a confocal manner to a focus position. Brillouin scattering resulting from the Brillouin sample beam may be detected to determine an elastomechanical property and a viscoelastic property of the sample. SHG scattering resulting from the SHG sample beam may be detected to determine an indication of a morphological structure of the sample. The sample may be an in vivo human cornea.

Abstract: In certain embodiments, determining biometric properties of an eye includes emitting a measuring light beam. The measuring light beam is guided towards the eye for a plurality of scans. For each scan, the measuring light beam enters the cornea in a first lateral region and reaches the retina of the eye in a second lateral region along a corresponding beam path. The beam paths are different from each other. The measuring light beam back-reflected from the eye for each scan is interferometrically analyzed to provide corresponding OCT data. At least one of the following is determined according to the OCT data: at least one distance from a surface of the retina to a surface of the cornea or to a surface of the lens of the eye.

Abstract: An optical coherence tomography device comprises a light generator, a dispersive medium, an optical coupler and a detector. The light generator is adapted to generate a series of input pulses of coherent light, each input pulse having an input pulse width. The dispersive medium has an input that is optically coupled to the light generator and an output for output pulses. The dispersive medium is adapted to stretch the input pulse width to an output pulse width of each of the output pulses by chromatic dispersion. The optical coupler is adapted to couple the output pulses into a reference arm and a sample arm. The optical coupler is further adapted to superimpose light returning from the reference arm and the sample arm. The detector is adapted to detect an intensity of interference of the superimposed light with a temporal resolution of a fraction of the output pulse width.

Abstract: In certain embodiments, determining biometric properties of an eye includes emitting a measuring light beam. The measuring light beam is guided towards the eye for a plurality of scans. For each scan, the measuring light beam enters the cornea in a first lateral region and reaches the retina of the eye in a second lateral region along a corresponding beam path. The beam paths are different from each other. The measuring light beam back-reflected from the eye for each scan is interferometrically analyzed to provide corresponding OCT data. At least one of the following is determined according to the OCT data: at least one distance from a surface of the retina to a surface of the cornea or to a surface of the lens of the eye.

Abstract: A method and system for generating femtosecond (fs) ultraviolet (UV) laser pulses enables stabile, robust, and optically efficient generation of third harmonic fs laser pulses using periodically-poled quasi-phase-matched crystals. The crystals have different numbers of periodically poled crystalline layers that enable a long conversion length without back-conversion and without a special phase-matching direction. The fs UV laser may have a high conversion efficiency and may be suitable for high power operation.

Abstract: A method and system for performing biomechanical diagnosis of eye disease may include a Brillouin light source to generate a Brillouin sample beam, and a second harmonic generation (SHG) light source to generate an SHG sample beam. Both the Brillouin sample beam and the SHG sample beam may be coincidentally directed to a biological tissue sample in a confocal manner to a focus position. Brillouin scattering resulting from the Brillouin sample beam may be detected to determine an elastomechanical property and a viscoelastic property of the sample. SHG scattering resulting from the SHG sample beam may be detected to determine an indication of a morphological structure of the sample. The sample may be an in vivo human cornea.