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Nd:YLF lasers usually consisting of a two-stage device (oscillator plus amplifier); they are operated in Q-switched and mode locked modes, generating pulses of a few picoseconds. These lasers are designed to cause a photodisruptive effect in the eye by forming a plasma and generating immense localized mechanical shock waves (microexplosions) that, when highly focused, can destroy tissue (e.g., creation of corneal flaps as a microkeratome); they can be focused to spots of very small size (typical spot size is less than 7 micrometers). Nd:YLF ophthalmic lasers usually include built-in slit-lamp microscopes or are coupled to them by mirrors.
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