LASER CERTIFICATION ACTUAL CORE LASER
SAFETY AND PHYSICS CONCEPTS REVIEW
2026
◉ What type of gas is used when the active medium is sealed in an
air tight chamber?
Answer: CO2
◉ Diode lasers have what type of active medium?
Answer: semiconductor
◉ what photons form the laser?
Answer: light that leaks from the output coupler
◉ Stimulated emission:
Answer: atoms of the active medium are stimulated to a higher
energy level--> released as a photon as the atom returns to a more
stable lower energy level.
◉ Amplification
Answer: Released photons can go on to stimulate more atoms in the
crystal, thus producing more photons
,◉ Energy density depends on what 3 things?
Answer: energy, divergence (tendency of a laser beam to spread
outward=laser beam diameter increases), and distance
◉ Energy is measured in ______
Answer: Joules (millijoules)
◉ Power is ______ and is measured in _______
Answer: rate of doing work, or energy used over a period of time
and is measured in Watts (J/sec)
◉ Frequency is measured in _____.
Answer: Hertz ( laser pulses/sec)
◉ What is the most important variable dictating how the laser beam
will interact with the target tissue?
Answer: Peak Power
◉ Define Peak Power:
Answer: power level in each individual laser pulse, however it is not
visible to the operator
, ◉ Describe Peak Power in the 3 types:
1) Continuous
2) Gated
3) Free running pulsed
Answer: 1) the peak power equals the average power displayed
2) Average power is half of peak power
3) Low Average power, very high peak power
◉ What are the two basic forms of pulsed laser modes?
Answer: Gated wave
Free running pulsed
◉ How is the gated wave pulse created?
Answer: created with a shutter that blocks the laser beam from
reaching the handpiece and target tissue at varying speeds: the laser
is on constantly but the shutter device blocks the light from
transmitting. (example: flashlight moving hand in front of it)
◉ How is the Free running pulse created?
Answer: Not on constantly, but emit photons in powerful bursts of
energy measured in millionths of seconds.
(example: turning flashlight on and off)
SAFETY AND PHYSICS CONCEPTS REVIEW
2026
◉ What type of gas is used when the active medium is sealed in an
air tight chamber?
Answer: CO2
◉ Diode lasers have what type of active medium?
Answer: semiconductor
◉ what photons form the laser?
Answer: light that leaks from the output coupler
◉ Stimulated emission:
Answer: atoms of the active medium are stimulated to a higher
energy level--> released as a photon as the atom returns to a more
stable lower energy level.
◉ Amplification
Answer: Released photons can go on to stimulate more atoms in the
crystal, thus producing more photons
,◉ Energy density depends on what 3 things?
Answer: energy, divergence (tendency of a laser beam to spread
outward=laser beam diameter increases), and distance
◉ Energy is measured in ______
Answer: Joules (millijoules)
◉ Power is ______ and is measured in _______
Answer: rate of doing work, or energy used over a period of time
and is measured in Watts (J/sec)
◉ Frequency is measured in _____.
Answer: Hertz ( laser pulses/sec)
◉ What is the most important variable dictating how the laser beam
will interact with the target tissue?
Answer: Peak Power
◉ Define Peak Power:
Answer: power level in each individual laser pulse, however it is not
visible to the operator
, ◉ Describe Peak Power in the 3 types:
1) Continuous
2) Gated
3) Free running pulsed
Answer: 1) the peak power equals the average power displayed
2) Average power is half of peak power
3) Low Average power, very high peak power
◉ What are the two basic forms of pulsed laser modes?
Answer: Gated wave
Free running pulsed
◉ How is the gated wave pulse created?
Answer: created with a shutter that blocks the laser beam from
reaching the handpiece and target tissue at varying speeds: the laser
is on constantly but the shutter device blocks the light from
transmitting. (example: flashlight moving hand in front of it)
◉ How is the Free running pulse created?
Answer: Not on constantly, but emit photons in powerful bursts of
energy measured in millionths of seconds.
(example: turning flashlight on and off)
