Self-cleaning effect of sealing caps for infrared hollow fiber delivering pulsed Er:YAG laser light

A sealing cap had been proposed as an output device for hollow optical fibers in delivering laser light underwater. Properties of sealing cap were experimentally discussed when used in ablation on soft tissue for Er:YAG laser. A self-cleaning effect of the sealing cap was observed when various targets were used for different laser light power. Debris from pork fat formed a uniform oil layer on the output surface of the cap, and the oil layer is relatively transparent in Er:YAG laser light wavelength band. When the target was pork muscle, almost no debris could attach on the surface of the cap. The self-cleaning effect was more obvious when ablation was conducted underwater because of the protection of the water film between the target and the cap's surface.