Ruby laser weaknesses in the lining. Ruby lasers were used extensively in tattoo and hair removal, but are being replaced by alexandrite and s in this application. The ruby laser was the first laser to be made functional. Built by Theodore Maiman in 1960, the device was created out of the concept of an "optical maser," a maser that could operate in the visual or infrared regions of the spectrum. In 1958, after the inventor of the maser, Charles Townes, and his colleague, Arthur Schawlow, published an article in the "Physical Review" regarding the idea of optical masers, the race to build
Fiber laser material processing (marking, engraving, cutting) telecommunications, spectroscopy, medicine, and directed energy weapons. Unlike most other types of lasers, the laser cavity in fiber lasers is constructed monolithically by fusion splicing different types of fiber; fiber Bragg gratings replace conventional dielectric mirrors to provide optical feedback. Another type is the single longitudinal mode operation of ultra narrow distributed feedback lasers (DFB) where a phase-shifted Bragg grating overlaps the gain medium. Fiber lasers are pumped by semiconductor laser diodes or by other fiber lasers. Q-switched pulsed fiber lasers offer a compact, electrically efficient alternative to Nd:YAG technology. Many high-power fiber lasers are