Laser Penetration Depth Research Articles

Influence of processing parameters on laser penetration depth and melting/re-melting densification during selective laser melting of aluminum alloy

A three-dimensional mesoscopic model, considering the powder-to-solid transition, motion of gas bubbles within molten pool and the effect of surface tension, has been established in order to investigate the evolution rule of pores and re-melting densification mechanism during selective laser melting of AlSi10Mg. The results indicated that re-melting phenomenon of previous fabricated layer induced by laser melting of current powder layer played a crucial role on the increase in densification rate. During the re-melting process, the trapped gas pores in previous layer rose up swiftly and came to the surface consequently, resulting in remarkably elevated densification in previous layer. The influences of laser scan speed on the single-track morphology, types of pores and laser penetration depth have also been studied. It showed that the maximum re-melting depth (31 µm) was attained, and meanwhile, pores left in preceding layer got eliminated completely due to the mass transfer within molten pool, when an appropriate laser scan speed (150 mm/s) was applied. In this case, reasonable laser energy per unit length and irradiation time tended to enhance the laser penetration depth for powder bed and decrease the porosity in as-fabricated layer. A series of experimental study were performed to verify the reliability of the above mesoscopic simulation, including the surface topography of single track and the types of pores. The redistribution of bubbles between the adjacent layers as well as the localized re-melting densification, which were observed from the longitudinal section of samples, was in good agreement with simulation results.

3D imaging in CUBIC-cleared mouse heart tissue: going deeper.

The ability to acquire high resolution 3D images of the heart enables to study heart diseases more in detail. In this work, the CUBIC (clear, unobstructed brain imaging cocktails and computational analysis) clearing protocol was optimized for thick mouse heart sections to enhance the penetration depth of the confocal microscope lasers into the tissue. In addition, the optimized CUBIC clearing of the heart enhances antibody penetration into the tissue by a factor of five. The present protocol enables deep 3D high-quality image acquisition in the heart allowing a much more accurate assessment of the cellular and structural changes that underlie heart diseases.

Parameter Selection for Raman Spectroscopy-Based Detection of Chemical Contaminants in Food Powders

<abstract> Raman spectroscopy has proven to be a reliable method for detection of chemical contaminants in food ingredients and products. To detect each contaminant particle in a food sample, it is important to determine the effective depth of penetration of the laser through the food sample and the corresponding laser intensity required for the penetration. It is also important to determine the effective spatial resolution needed to detect each contaminant particle in the mixture. This study examined the depth of penetration of a 785 nm laser through tapioca starch and wheat flour when using three different laser intensities. Melamine, known to exhibit identifiable Raman spectral peaks, was selected as a subsurface reference material for determining the depth of laser penetration through the food powder samples. The food powders were layered in five depths between 1 and 5 mm over a Petri dish packed with melamine. It was observed that the 785 nm laser could penetrate to 3 mm depth in starch; however, the penetration depth was limited to 2 mm in flour. These depths were achieved using laser intensities of 200 and 100 mW for starch and flour, respectively. The selected depth and laser intensity parameters were next used to examine the effective spatial resolution required for detection of maleic acid in starch and benzoyl peroxide in flour, which was selected to be 0.5 mm. Finally, an experiment was conducted to demonstrate the use of these parameters for quantitative Raman imaging-based detection of these contaminants prepared in mixtures at 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5% (w/w) concentrations.

The effects of ultrasound and alternating current on the laser penetration in the tissue.

The visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) lasers are now widely used in therapeutic and other medical applications. Some of these applications require to deliver the laser energy deep toward the desired tissue target or organ. The aim of this in vitro study is to investigate practically whether the modulation of laser energy by employing the therapeutic ultrasound or electrical energies can increase the penetration depth of the laser light inside the tissue. Such modulation was implemented in this study by coupling the (c.w.) diode and Nd:YAG laser energies with the ultrasound or AC current simultaneously as they pass through preprepared ex vivo bovine muscular tissue strips. Two wavelengths of diode lasers were used, 637 and 808nm beside the 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser. The results showed a noticeable decrease of these laser attenuation factors as they pass through the tissue strips in the presence of the ultrasound or AC energies. By using this coupling modulation, the capability of increasing the laser penetration depths inside the tissue was confirmed without having to increase their applied power.

Plasma characteristics of 355 nm and 532 nm laser deposition of Al-doped ZnO films

Abstract The plasma characteristics of 355 nm and 532 nm laser ablation of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) target were studied by optical emission spectroscopy and ion probe measurements. Zn emission lines were measured detected at above 0.9 J/cm 2 for 355 nm laser and 0.6 J/cm 2 532 nm laser respectively, while Al species were detected only above 2 J/cm 2 . The kinetic energy of the ions was slightly higher for 532 nm ablation as compared to 355 nm ablation. In addition, the ablation of 532 nm laser was affected by the large laser penetration depth. When deposited at 2 and 4 J/cm 2 , AZO films with energy band gap of 3.45–3.6 eV were obtained. Nanostructured AZO films were obtained by 355 nm laser ablation but nano and micro-particulates were formed in 532 nm laser ablation. The large micron-sized particulates were Al-rich thus affecting not only the morphology but also the stoichiometry of the films. It is thus concluded that despite a lower ablation and growth rate, 355 nm generated Zn, O and also Al species at lower threshold fluence that can lead to high quality AZO films at room temperature.

Effects of building orientation and heat treatment on fatigue behavior of selective laser melted 17-4 PH stainless steel

The effects of building orientation and post-fabrication heat treatment (solution annealing plus peak-aging) on fully-reversed strain-controlled fatigue behavior of 17-4 precipitation hardening (PH) stainless steel (SS) fabricated via Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is investigated. For this particular alloy, post-SLM heat treatment was found to be necessary in order to improve its tensile strength and fatigue behavior in low cycle fatigue (LCF), where the effects of microstructural impurities are less pronounced. However, the selected heat treatment was found to have detrimental influence on the SLM 17-4 PH SS high cycle fatigue (HCF) performance. The heat treatment resulted in precipitation hardening, allowing the SLM parts to become more sensitive to impurities in HCF, where the crack initiation stage dominates the total fatigue lifetime. Building orientation played a significant role on fatigue behavior in both LCF and HCF, owing to the relative orientation of deposited layers with respect to applied load. Un-melted regions (i.e. inter-layer cavities/voids), resulting from insufficient fusion or low laser penetration depth, were found to be the most detrimental type of defects on fatigue strength of SLM 17-4 PH SS due to their relatively large size and irregular shape. These specific regions that formed during fabrication of vertically-orientated samples were more detrimental than those of horizontally-built ones as they provided more stress concentration under loading, leading to lower fatigue strength. Although the process parameters were optimized based on maximizing density, the results of this study imply that this criterion is not sufficient for improving fatigue behavior, as the split-shaped un-melted regions, containing a large area with small volume, cannot be taken into account through conventional density measurements.

Modeling optical absorption for thermoreflectance measurements

Optical pump-probe techniques based on thermoreflectance, such as time domain thermoreflectance and frequency domain thermoreflectance (FDTR), have been widely used to characterize the thermal conductivity of thin films and the thermal conductance across interfaces. These techniques typically use a transducer layer to absorb the pump light and improve the thermoreflectance signal. The transducer, however, complicates the interpretation of the measured signal because the approximation that all the energy from the pump beam is deposited at the transducer surface is not always accurate. In this paper, we consider the effect of laser absorption in the top layer of a multilayer sample, and derive an analytical solution for the thermoreflectance signal in the diffusion regime based on volumetric heating. We analyze the measurement sensitivity to the pump absorption depth for transducers with different thermal conductivities, and investigate the additional effect of probe laser penetration depth on the measured signal. We validate our model using FDTR measurements on 490 nm thick amorphous silicon films deposited on fused silica and silicon substrates.

Photoreflectance and Raman Study of Surface Electric States on AlGaAs/GaAs Heterostructures

Photoreflectance (PR) and Raman are two very useful spectroscopy techniques that usually are used to know the surface electronic states in GaAs-based semiconductor devices. However, although they are exceptional tools there are few reports where both techniques were used in these kinds of devices. In this work, the surface electronic states on AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures were studied in order to identify the effect of factors like laser penetration depth, cap layer thickness, and surface passivation over PR and Raman spectra. PR measurements were performed alternately with two lasers (532 nm and 375 nm wavelength) as the modulation sources in order to identify internal and surface features. The surface electric field calculated by PR analysis decreased whereas the GaAs cap layer thickness increased, in good agreement with a similar behavior observed in Raman measurements (IL-/ILOratio). When the heterostructures were treated by Si-flux, these techniques showed contrary behaviors. PR analysis revealed a diminution in the surface electric field due to a passivation process whereas theIL-/ILOratio did not present the same behavior because it was dominated by the depletion layers width (cap layer thickness) and the laser penetration depth.

Finite Element Simulation of Selective Laser Melting process considering Optical Penetration Depth of laser in powder bed

A three dimensional finite element model (FEM) is introduced in this work in order to simulate the melt pool size during the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process. The model adopts the Optical Penetration Depth (OPD) of laser beam into the powder bed and its dependency on the powder size in definition of the heat source. The model is used to simulate laser melting of a single layer of stainless steel 316L on a thick powder bed. The results of the model for the melt pool depth are validated with the experimental results. The model is then used to predict the effect of different scanning speeds on the melt pool depth, width, and length. The results showed that the melt pool size varies from the beginning of a track to its end and from the first track to the next. The melt pool size, however, reaches a stable condition after a few tracks. This concept was used to simplify the process modeling in which reduces the computational costs.

Effects of process time interval and heat treatment on the mechanical and microstructural properties of direct laser deposited 316L stainless steel

The mechanical and microstructural properties of 316L stainless steel (SS) fabricated via Direct Laser Deposition (DLD), a laser-based additive manufacturing method, are presented and compared with those of conventionally-built counterparts. Using a Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS®) DLD system, the time interval between successive layer deposits, or inter-layer/idle time, for fabricating cylindrical specimens vertically-upward was varied by building either one or nine samples per build plate – thus increasing total assembly volume per build. Subsequently, the effect of thermal history, as well as heat treatment, on microstructural (i.e. grain size and morphology) and mechanical (i.e. tensile, compression, and microhardness) properties of DLD parts were investigated. Results indicate that the DLD 316L SS samples produced herein have a higher yield and ultimate tensile strength relative to their cast and wrought forms. Furthermore, the thermal history, microstructural evolution, and mechanical properties of DLD 316L SS are shown to be dependent on the time interval between deposits. Longer local time intervals result in higher cooling rates, leading to finer microstructures, higher/uniform strength and lower elongation to failure. In addition, porosity and less integral metallurgical bonds are found to be more prevalent in locations further upward from the build plate due to reduced laser penetration depths (e.g. previous-layer remelting decreases). Conversely, parts manufactured with shorter time intervals were found to possess a coarser microstructure, lower strength and higher elongation to failure – attributable to lower cooling rates caused by an increased bulk temperature in the part. These results may aid in future design and control of more efficient, constant-power DLD processes – especially with regard to building multiple and/or larger parts; an approach desirable for minimizing small-to-medium lot production times.

Enhancement of proton acceleration by frequency-chirped laser pulse in radiation pressure mechanism

The transition from hole-boring to light-sail regime of radiation pressure acceleration by frequency-chirped laser pulses is studied using particle-in-cell simulation. The penetration depth of laser into the plasma with ramped density profile increases when a negatively chirped laser pulse is applied. Because of this induced transparency, the laser reflection layer moves deeper into the target and the hole-boring stage would smoothly transit into the light-sail stage. An optimum chirp parameter which satisfies the laser transparency condition, a0≈πnel/ncλ, is obtained for each ramp scale length. Moreover, the efficiency of conversion of laser energy into the kinetic energy of particles is maximized at the obtained optimum condition. A relatively narrow proton energy spectrum with peak enhancement by a factor of 2 is achieved using a negatively chirped pulse compared with the un-chirped pulse.

The effect of ArF laser irradiation (193 nm) on the photodegradation and etching properties of alpha-irradiated CR-39 detectors

The effects of ArF laser irradiation (λ=193nm) at various fluences (energy dose or energy density) on the etching properties of pre-exposed (laser+alpha) CR-39 detectors were studied. First, UV–Vis and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra were acquired for non-laser-irradiated and laser-irradiated samples to detect the influence of the ArF laser on the chemical modification of the CR-39. Changes observed in the spectra indicated that the predominant process that occurred upon ArF laser irradiation was a bond-scission process. Thereafter, the mean track and bulk etching parameters were experimentally measured in ArF-laser-irradiated CR-39 detectors exposed to an alpha source (241Am, E=5.49MeV). Inhomogeneous regions in the laser-irradiated side of the CR-39 demonstrated a variable etching rate on only the front side of the CR-39 detector. New equations are also presented for the average bulk etching rate for these inhomogeneous regions (front side). The mean bulk and track etching rates and the mean track dimensions increased in a fluence range of 0–37.03mJ/cm2 because of photodegradation and the scission of chemical bonds, which are the predominant processes in this range. When the fluence was increased from 37.03 to 123.45mJ/cm2, the bulk and track etching rates and the track dimensions slowly decreased because of the formation of cross-linked structures on the CR-39 surface. The behavior of the bulk and track etching rates and the track dimensions appears to be proportional to the dose absorbed on the detector surface. It was observed that as the etching time was increased, the bulk and track etching rates and the track dimensions of the laser-irradiated samples decreased because of the shallow penetration depth of the 193nm laser and the reduction in the oxygen penetration depth.

Automatic laser welding and milling with in situ inline coherent imaging.

Although new affordable high-power laser technologies enable many processing applications in science and industry, depth control remains a serious technical challenge. In this Letter we show that inline coherent imaging (ICI), with line rates up to 312kHz and microsecond-duration capture times, is capable of directly measuring laser penetration depth, in a process as violent as kW-class keyhole welding. We exploit ICI's high speed, high dynamic range, and robustness to interference from other optical sources to achieve automatic, adaptive control of laser welding, as well as ablation, achieving 3D micron-scale sculpting in vastly different heterogeneous biological materials.

Electron heating enhancement by frequency-chirped laser pulses

Propagation of a chirped laser pulse with a circular polarization through an uprising plasma density profile is studied by using 1D-3V particle-in-cell simulation. The laser penetration depth is increased in an overdense plasma compared to an unchirped pulse. The induced transparency due to the laser frequency chirp results in an enhanced heating of hot electrons as well as increased maximum longitudinal electrostatic field at the back side of the solid target, which is very essential in target normal sheath acceleration regime of proton acceleration. For an applied chirp parameter between 0.008 and 0.01, the maximum amount of the electrostatic field is improved by a factor of 2. Furthermore, it is noticed that for a chirped laser pulse with a0 = 5, because of increasing the plasma transparency length, the laser pulse can penetrate up to about ne ≈ 6nc, where nc is plasma critical density. It shows 63% increase in the effective critical density compared to the relativistic induced transparency regime for an unchirped condition.

In-Situ Raman Spectroscopy Probing of Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells

Solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) technology is a promising route for sustainable recycling of carbon dioxide and steam into synthetic fuels and commodity chemicals via syngas (H2+ CO) production. This technology is based on the reverse polarity of the prominent solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and commonly consists of a porous Ni/YSZ cathode, dense YSZ electrolyte and porous LSM/YSZ anode.High temperature co-electrolysis of CO2 and H2O is a complicated process and has not yet been fully understood. This is due to a number of reactions that take place simultaneously: water electrolysis, carbon dioxide electrolysis and the reverse water-gas shift reaction (rWGS CO2 + H2 ↔ CO + H2O). Other possible reactions driven by the equilibrium may include the Bosch reaction (CO + H2 ↔ C(s) + H2O) and Boudouard reaction (2CO ↔ CO2 + C(s)).Carbon deposition on the nickel-cermet surface of SOECs can severely degrade the performance of the cell by deactivating the reaction sites. Recent work by Tao et al. has shown that, at high current densities and conversion efficiencies of CO2 and H2O to CO and H2, carbon formation on the surface of Ni/YSZ fuel electrode is likely to occur [1].SOECs are typically analyzed in-situ using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and current-voltage characteristics and ex-situ using scanning electron microscopy to obtain information about cell’s surface topography and composition. However, these techniques are not able to provide conclusive information about the processes occurring during operation of the cell.In this work we aim to use in-situ Raman spectroscopy alongside traditional electrochemical techniques to probe the surface species of the SOEC electrodes for carbon impurities deposition and provide insight into the fundamental processes and reaction pathways that occur during high temperature (700 – 850 oC) co-electrolysis of CO2 and steam. In-situ Raman spectroscopy is also applied to characterize structural changes and material transformations during SOEC operation.The particular area of interest is the triple phase boundary (TPB), where the electrochemical reactions take place. Accessing the TPB is challenging due to high operation temperatures and the depth of laser penetration into the sample.The experimental setup with optical access for the Raman microscope will be discussed in detail as well as the correlation of in-situ spectroscopic data with the electrochemical information obtained from the SOECs.

Secondary crystalline phases identification in Cu $$_2$$ 2 ZnSnSe $$_4$$ 4 thin films: contributions from Raman scattering and photoluminescence

In this work, we present the Raman peak positions of the quaternary pure selenide compound Cu\(_2\)ZnSnSe\(_4\) (CZTSe) and related secondary phases that were grown and studied under the same conditions. A vast discussion about the position of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) reflections of these compounds is presented. It is known that by using XRD only, CZTSe can be identified but nothing can be said about the presence of some secondary phases. Thin films of CZTSe, Cu\(_2\)SnSe\(_3\), ZnSe, SnSe, SnSe\(_2\), MoSe\(_2\) and a-Se were grown, which allowed their investigation by Raman spectroscopy (RS). Here we present all the Raman spectra of these phases and discuss the similarities with the spectra of CZTSe. The effective analysis depth for the common back-scattering geometry commonly used in RS measurements, as well as the laser penetration depth for photoluminescence (PL) were estimated for different wavelength values. The observed asymmetric PL band on a CZTSe film is compatible with the presence of CZTSe single-phase and is discussed in the scope of the fluctuating potentials' model. The estimated bandgap energy is close to the values obtained from absorption measurements. In general, the phase identification of CZTSe benefits from the contributions of RS and PL along with the XRD discussion.

Optical clearing agent perfusion enhancement via combination of microneedle poration, heating and pneumatic pressure.

Optical clearing agents (OCAs) have shown promise for increasing the penetration depth of biomedical lasers by temporarily decreasing optical scattering within the skin. However, their translation to the clinic has been constrained by lack of practical means for effectively perfusing OCA within target tissues in vivo. The objective of this study was to address this limitation through combination of a variety of techniques to enhance OCA perfusion, including heating of OCA, microneedling and/or application of pneumatic pressure over the skin surface being treated (vacuum and/or positive pressure). While some of these techniques have been explored by others independently, the current study represents the first to explore their use together. Propylene glycol (PG) OCA, either at room-temperature or heated to 45°C, was topically applied to hydrated, body temperature ex vivo porcine skin, in conjunction with various combinations of microneedling pre-treatment (0.2 mm length microneedles, performed prior to OCA application), vacuum pre-treatment (17-50 kPa, performed prior to OCA application), and positive pressure post-treatment (35-172 kPa, performed after OCA application). The effectiveness of OCA perfusion was characterized via measurements of transmittance, reduced scattering coefficient, and penetration depth at a number of medically-relevant laser wavelengths across the visible spectrum. Topical application of room-temperature (RT) PG led to an increase in transmittance across the visible spectrum of up to 21% relative to untreated skin. However, only modest increases were observed with addition of various combinations of microneedling pre-treatment, vacuum pre-treatment, and positive pressure post-treatment. Conversely, when heated PG was used in conjunction with these techniques, we observed significant increases in transmittance. Using an optimal PG perfusion enhancement protocol consisting of 45°C heated PG + microneedle pre-treatment + 35 kPa vacuum pre-treatment + 103 kPa positive pressure post-treatment, we observed up to 68% increase in transmittance relative to untreated skin, and up to 46% increase relative to topical RT PG application alone. Using the optimal PG perfusion enhancement protocol, we also observed up to 30% decrease in reduced scattering coefficient relative to untreated skin, and up to 20% decrease relative to topical RT PG alone. Finally, using the optimal protocol, we observed up to 25% increase in penetration depth relative to untreated skin, and up to 23% increase relative to topical RT PG alone. The combination of heated PG, microneedling pre-treatment, vacuum pre-treatment, and positive pressure-post treatment were observed to significantly enhance the perfusion of topically applied PG. Although further studies are required to evaluate the efficacy of combined perfusion enhancement techniques in vivo, the current results suggest promise for facilitating the translation of OCAs to the clinic.

Assessment of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Particle Size in Tablets by Raman Chemical Imaging Validated using Polystyrene Microsphere Size Standards

Particle size is a critical parameter for controlling pharmaceutical quality. The aim of this study was to assess the size of the micrometer-scale active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) in tablets using Raman chemical imaging and to understand the effects of formulation on particle size. Model tablets containing National Institute of Standards and Technology traceable polystyrene microsphere size standards were developed to determine the binarization threshold value of Raman chemical images for API particle sizing in specific formulations and processes. Three sets of model tablets containing 5, 10, and 15 μm polystyrene microspheres, used to mimic API, were prepared using a commercial tablet formulation (Ebastel tablets, mean API particle size was about 5 μm). Raman mapping with a 50× objective (NA, 0.75) was applied to tablet cross-sections, and particle size of polystyrene microspheres was estimated from binary images using several binarization thresholds. Mean particle size for three sets of polystyrene microspheres showed good agreement between pre- and postformulation (the slope = 1.024, R = 1.000) at the specific threshold value ((mean + 0.5σ) of the polystyrene-specific peak intensity histogram), regardless of particle agglomeration, tablet surface roughness, and laser penetration depth. The binarization threshold value showed good applicability to Ebastel tablets, where the API-specific peak intensity histogram showed a pattern similar to that of polystyrene microspheres in model tablets. The model tablets enabled determination of an appropriate binarization threshold for assessing the mean particle size of micrometer-scale API in tablets by utilizing the unique physicochemical properties of polystyrene microspheres.

Microstructure and properties of intermetallic composite coatings fabricated by selective laser melting of Ti–SiC powder mixtures

Transition metal silicides and carbides are attractive advanced materials possessing unique combinations of physical and mechanical properties. However, conventional synthesis of bulk intermetallics is a challenging task because of their high melting point. In the present research, titanium carbides and silicides composites were fabricated on the titanium substrate by a selective laser melting (SLM) of Ti–(20,30,40wt.%)SiC powder mixtures by an Ytterbium fiber laser with 1.075μm wavelength, operating at 50W power, with the laser scanning speed of 120mm/s. Phase analysis of the fabricated coatings showed that the initial powders remelted and new multiphase structures containing TiCx, Ti5Si3Cx, TiSi2 and SiC phases in situ formed. Investigation of the microstructure revealed two main types of inhomogeneities in the composites, (i) SiC particles at the interlayer interfaces and, (ii) chemical segregation of the elements in the central areas of the tracks. It was suggested and experimentally proven that an increase in laser power to 80W was an efficient way to improve the laser penetration depth and the mass transport in the liquid phase, and therefore, to fabricate more homogeneous composite. The SLM Ti–(20,30,40wt.%)SiC composites demonstrated high hardness (11–17GPa) and high abrasive wear resistance (3.99×10−7–9.51×10−7g/Nm) properties, promising for the applications involving abrasive wear.

A continuously variable beam‐diameter, high‐fluence, Q‐switched Nd:YAG laser for tattoo removal: Comparison of the maximum beam diameter to a standard 4‐mm‐diameter treatment beam

Laser beam diameter affects the depth of laser penetration. Q-switched lasers tend to have smaller maximum spot sizes than other dermatologic lasers, making beam diameter a potentially more significant factor in treatment outcomes. To compare the clinical effect of using the maximum-size treatment beam available for each delivered fluence during laser tattoo removal to a standard 4-mm-diameter treatment beam. Thirteen tattoos were treated in 12 subjects using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser equipped with a treatment beam diameter that was adjustable in 1 mm increments and a setting that would enable the maximally achievable diameter ("MAX-ON" setting) with any fluence. Tattoos were randomly bisected and treated on one side with the MAX-ON setting and on the contralateral side with a standard 4-mm-diameter spot ("MAX-OFF" setting). Photographs were taken 8 weeks following each treatment and each half-tattoo was evaluated for clearance on a 10-point scale by physicians blinded to the treatment conditions. Tattoo clearance was greater on the side treated with the MAX-ON setting in a statistically significant manner following the 1st through 4th treatments, with the MAX-OFF treatment site approaching the clearance of the MAX-ON treatment site after the 5th and 6th treatments. This high-energy, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with a continuously variable spot-size safely and effectively removes tattoos, with greater removal when using a larger spot-size.