Abstract
Free Electron Laser (FEL) with the wide wavelength tunability has been developed and used for various applications. The FEL gives high efficiency for the photo-induced ablation when the laser is tuned to an absorption maximum of the target. The FEL was tuned to 9.4 μm, which is an absorption maximum of phosphoric acid ion, a known major component of dentine. The FEL pulse length was several ps. The average output power was varied from 5 to 20 mW by filters. The change of irradiated dentine surface was analyzed by mass spectroscopy and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. Positive ions which correspond to Na +, CO 3 + and many phosphoric acid ions were measured. It was found that atomic ratio of P/Ca had reduced from 0.65–0.60. The atomic ratio of P/Ca, however had not changed with irradiation by Er:YAG laser (2.9 μm), or CO 2 laser (10.6 μm). These results indicate the selective ablation of phosphoric acid ion by the 9.4 mm FEL irradiation.
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