The ultrashort chirped pulse amplification (CPA) laser technology opens the path to high intensities of 10^21 W/cm² and above in the laser focus. Such intensities allow laser-matter interaction in the relativistic intensity regime. Direct diode-pumped ultrashort solid-state lasers combine high-energy, high-power and efficient amplification together, which are the main advantages compared to flashlamp-pumped high-energy laser systems based on titanium-doped sapphire. Development within recent years in the field of laser diodes makes them more and more attractive in terms of total costs, compactness and lifetime. This work is dedicated to the Petawatt, ENergy-Efficient Laser for Optical Plasma Experiments (PENELOPE) project, a fully and directly diode-pumped laser system under development at the Helmholtz–Zentrum Dresden – Rossendorf (HZDR), aiming at 150 fs long pulses with energies of up to 150 J at repetition rates of up to 1 Hz. The focus of this thesis lies on the spectral and width manipulation of the front-end amplifiers, trivalent ytterbium-doped calcium fluoride (Yb3+:CaF2) as gain material as well as the pump source for the final two main amplifiers of the PENELOPE laser system. Here, all crucial design parameters were investigated and a further successful scaling of the laser system to its target values was shown. Gain narrowing is the dominant process for spectral bandwidth reduction during the amplification at the high-gain front-end amplifiers. Active or passive spectral gain control filter can be used to counteract this effect. A pulse duration of 121 fs was achieved by using a passive spectral attenuation inside a regenerative amplifier, which corresponds to an improvement by a factor of almost 2 compared to the start of this work. A proof-of-concept experiment showed the capability of the pre-shaping approach. A spectral bandwidth of 20nm was transferred through the first multipass amplifier at a total gain of 300. Finally, the predicted output spectrum calculated by a numerical model of the final amplifier stages was in a good agreement with the experimental results. The spectroscopic properties of Yb3+:CaF2 matches the constraints for ultrashort laser pulse amplification and direct diode pumping. Pumping close to the zero phonon line at 976nm is preferable compared to 940nm as the pump intensity saturation is significantly lower. A broad gain cross section of up to 50nm is achievable for typical inversion levels. Furthermore, moderate cryogenic temperatures (above 200K) can be used to improve the amplification performance of Yb3+:CaF2. The optical quality of the doped crystals currently available on the market is sufficient to build amplifiers in the hundred joule range. The designed pump source for the last two amplifiers is based on two side pumping in a double pass configuration. However, this concept requires the necessity of brightness conservation for the installed laser diodes. Therefore, a fully relay imaging setup (4f optical system) along the optical path from the stacks to the gain material including the global beam homogenization was developed in a novel approach. Beside these major parts the amplifier architecture and relay imaging telescopes as well as temporal intensity contrast (TIC) was investigated. An all reflective concept for the relay imaging amplifiers and telescopes was selected, which results in several advantages especially an achromatic behavior and low B-Integral. The TIC of the front-end was improved, as the pre- and postpulses due to the plane-parallel active-mirror was eliminated by wedging the gain medium.

Cette étude adresse une technologie de diodes laser à semi-conducteur InGaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs émettant à 980 nm en configuration puce nue (CSE-Composant Sur Embase) utilisées pour le pompage optique dans les amplificateurs à fibre dopée Er3+. Il s'agit de composants possédant un tel niveau de maturité technologique que l’évolution des paramètres observés au cours du temps ne présente plus de variations suffisamment significatives pour pouvoir dégager des conclusions exhaustives en termes de fiabilité. La recherche de méthodes alternatives et/ou complémentaires aux méthodes dites « classiques » visant à la compréhension des mécanismes de défaillance et l’identification des signatures indiquant une possible dégradation future des diodes laser, relève aujourd’hui un défi stratégique pour les composants actuels. Dans ce contexte, cette étude propose un ensemble de techniques basées sur la discrimination du fonctionnement des diodes en régime direct et en particulier en régime inverse par spectroscopie électrique. La corrélation des différentes mesures en régime inverse, très peu étudié dans la caractérisation des diodes laser, peut mettre en évidence des comportements atypiques qui révèlent la présence de défauts ponctuels résiduels dans le volume d’une diode car les courants observés sont très faibles. Le régime inverse permet d'offrir des perspectives intéressantes en considérant que ce régime reste de nos jours quasiment inexploré pour les composants optoélectroniques émissifs tels que les diodes laser. / This study addresses InGaAs / AlGaAs / GaAs laser diode emitting at 980 nm in bare chip configuration (COS-Component on Submount) for optical pumping in Er3+ doped fiber amplifiers. These devices have a level of technological maturity that the changes in the parameters observed during aging do not present sufficiently significant variations in order to obtain exhaustive conclusions in terms of reliability. Searching for alternative and/or complementary methods to the so-called « classical » methods aimed to understanding the failure mechanisms and the identification of signatures indicating possible future degradation of the laser diodes, represents today a strategic challenge for the current components. In this context, this study suggests a set of techniques based on the discrimination of the operation mode of the diodes in direct bias and in particular in reverse bias by electrical spectroscopy. The correlation of the different measurements in reverse bias, not more studied in the characterization of laser diodes, can reveal atypical behaviors highlighting presence of residual point defects in the volume of a diode because the currents observed are very weak. The reverse bias makes it possible to offer interesting perspectives considering that, this operation mode remains today almost unexplored for optoelectronic emitting devices such as laser diodes.

Abstract This thesis describes the development of high bandwidth (~1 GHz) TOF (time-of-flight) laser range finder techniques for industrial measurement applications in the measurement range of zero to a few dozen metres to diffusely reflecting targets. The main goal has been to improve single-shot precision to mm-level in order to shorten the measurement result acquisition time. A TOF laser range finder consists of a laser transmitter, one or two receivers and timing discriminators, and a time measuring unit. In order to improve single-shot precision the slew-rate of the measurement pulse should be increased, so the optical pulse of the laser transmitter should be narrower and more powerful and the bandwidth of the receiver should be higher without increasing the noise level too much. In the transmitter usually avalanche transistors are used for generating the short (3–10 ns) and powerful (20–100 A) current pulses for the semiconductor laser. Several avalanche transistor types were compared and the optimization of the switching circuit was studied. It was shown that as high as 130 A current pulses are achievable using commercially available surface mount avalanche transistors. The timing discriminator was noticed to give the minimum walk error, when high slew rate measurement pulses and a high bandwidth comparator were used. A walk error of less than +/- 1 mm in an input amplitude dynamic range higher than 1:10 can be achieved with a high bandwidth receiver channel. Adding an external offset voltage between the input nodes of the comparator additionally minimized the walk error. A prototype ~1 GHz laser range finder constructed in the thesis consists of a laser pulser and two integrated ASIC receiver channels with silicon APDs (avalanche photodiodes), crossover timing discriminators and Gilbert cell attenuators. The laser pulser utilizes an internal Q-switching mode of a commercially available SH-laser and produces optical pulses with a pulse peak power and FWHM (full-width-at-half-maximum) of 44 W and 74 ps, respectively. Using single-axis optics and 1 m long multimode fibres between the optics and receivers a total accuracy of +/-2 mm in the measurement range of 0.5–34.5 m was measured. The single-shot precision (σ-value) was 14 ps–34 ps (2–5 mm) in the measurement range. The single-shot precision agrees well with the simulations and is better with a factor of about 3-5 as compared to earlier published pulsed TOF laser radars in comparable measuring conditions.

Cette thèse étudie l'interaction de nanopointes avec des impulsions laser ultracourtes pour observer l'émission photo-assistée d'électrons. Plusieurs mécanismes physiques entrent en jeu, chacun ayant une signature unique identifiable dans le spectre d'énergie des électrons. Nous avons développé une nouvelle expérience pour observer et identifier ces mécanismes d'émission. Ceci inclut le développement complet d'un système laser flexible (notamment un amplificateur optique non colinéaire (NOPA) haute cadence), une chambre ultra-vide avec détecteur d'électrons (mesure de spectre d'électrons et carte 2D de l'émission) et un dispositif de nanopositionnement de la pointe dans le foyer du laser, et enfin la fabrication et caractérisation de pointes diverses (en collaboration avec les laboratoires CEMES (Toulouse) et GPM (Rouen)). Nous avons observé l'émission photo-induite d'électrons à partir de nanopointes de différents matériaux (tungstène, argent, et une nouvelle pointe formée autour d'un nanotube de carbone unique). Nous avons confirmé l'observation de pics ATP (signature de la photoémission au dessus du seuil) sur une pointe de tungstène. Nous avons détecté la première émission induite par laser à partir de nanocône de carbone unique. Enfin, nous avons observé un plateau dans le spectre d'énergie des électrons d'une pointe d'argent, signature de la recollision et rediffusion des électrons sur la pointe. Pour identifier et caractériser ces mécanismes, des études variées ont été faites en fonction de la tension appliquée sur la pointe, du taux de répétition du laser, de sa polarisation, de sa puissance et de sa longueur d'onde. En étudiant la forme du spectre des photoélectrons, nous avons pu extraire des informations sur l'interaction: le facteur d'amplification du champ laser proche de la nanopointe et la probabilité d'absorption d'un photon au dessus du seuil. / This thesis concerns the interaction of a sharp nanotip with an ultrashort laser pulse for the observation of emission of photoelectrons. An electron can be emitted from a sharp nanotip system by many different mechanisms. Each mechanism gives a unique signature that can be identified by the photoelectron energy spectrum. We developed a new experiment to observe and identify these emission mechanisms. This consists of a flexible laser system (including the development of a high repetition rate, variable repetition rate noncollinear optical parametric amplifier (NOPA)), ultra high vacuum chamber, electron detector (electron spectrometer with 2D resolution), nanopositioning of a sharp nanotip in the focus of the laser, and fabrication of these nanotip samples in a variety of materials (in collaboration with CEMES (Toulouse) and GPM (Rouen)). We observed the emission of photoelectrons from various nanotips based on different materials: tungsten, silver, and a new type of carbon-based nanotip formed around a single carbon nanotube. We confirm the observation of above threshold photoemission (ATP) peaks from a tungsten nanotip. We detected the first laser induced electron emission from a carbon cone based on a single carbon nanotube. We observed a plateau in the electron spectra from a silver nanotip, the signature of electron recollision and rescattering in the tip. Various studies were performed in function of the voltage applied, repetition rate of the laser, laser polarization, energy and wavelength of the laser in order to understand these phenomena. From spectral features we were able to extract information about the system such as the enhancement factor of the laser electric field near the nanotip and the probability of above threshold photon absorption. Comparisons of the various spectra observed allowed us to spectrally identify the mechanisms for photoemission for tip based systems.

A CO₂ laser system delivering a 12 J pulse with a FWHM of 2 ns on target was developed to serve as a driver for studies of laser plasma interactions within a cylindrical cavity. The system consisted of a hybrid oscillator, followed by an amplifier chain, and it achieved its design goals of delivering an intense CO₂ pulse, Gaussian in time and space, with a high contrast ratio on a reliable basis. The targets in which the plasma was produced consisted of small rectangular plates of lucite, with holes drilled through one of the long axes. The holes were 350 μm to 600 μm in diameter, and 10 mm in length. These dimensions allowed the laser beam, focused at the entrance of the hole, to produce sufficient intensity on the inner walls of the cylindrical cavity for plasma formation, while allowing the beam, with a waist diameter of 100 μm at the focus to deliver most of its energy within the cavity. The beam propagated via multiple reflections from the plasma through the cavity. Diagnostics were performed on the beam transmitted through the target. Streak camera images were collected of the intensity of visible emission from the plasma along the axis of the target. Anomalous results were obtained with respect to the reproducible observation of maximum visible light emission from regions at the far end cavity from where the laser beam is injected. Another unforseen but interesting result was the small divergence of the beam transmitted through the cavity. Preliminary models were developed to attempt to explain the observations. / Science, Faculty of / Physics and Astronomy, Department of / Graduate

This PhD thesis reports an investigation into medical coronary stent cutting using three different types of lasers and associated physical phenomena. This study is motivated by a gap in the current knowledge in stent cutting identified in an extensive literature review. Although lasers are widely used for stent cutting, in general the laser technology employed is still traditionally based on millisecond pulsed Nd:YAG lasers. Although recent studies have demonstrated the use of fibre lasers, picosecond and femtosecond lasers for stent cutting, it has been preliminary studies.To further understand the role of new types of lasers such as pulsed fibre lasers, picosecond and femtosecond pulsed lasers in stent cutting, these three lasers based stent cutting were investigated in this project. The first investigation was on a new cutting method using water assisted pulsed (millisecond) fibre laser cutting of stainless steel 316L tubes to explore the advantages of the presence of water compared to the dry cutting condition. Significant improvements were observed with the presence of water; narrower kerf width, lower surface roughness, less dross attachment, absence of backwall damage and smaller heat affected zone (HAZ). This technique is now fully commercialised by Swisstec, an industrial project partner that manufactures stent cutting machines.The second investigation used the picosecond laser (with 6 ps pulse duration in the UV wavelength range) for cutting nickel titanium alloy (nitinol) and platinum iridium alloy. The main achievement in this study was obtaining dross-free cut as well as clean backwall, which may eliminate the need for extensive post-processing. Picosecond laser cutting of stents is investigated and reported for the first time. The third area of investigation was on the use of a femtosecond laser at 100 fs pulse duration for cutting nickel titanium alloy tubes. It was found that dry cutting degraded the cut quality due to debris and recast formation. For improvement, a water assisted cutting technique was undertaken, for the first time, by submerging the workpiece in a thin layer of water for comparison with the dry cutting condition. The final part of the thesis presents a three dimensional numerical model of the laser micromachining process using smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). The model was used to provide better understanding of the laser beam and material interaction (with static beam) including the penetration depth achieved, phase changes, melt ejection velocity, also recast and spatter formation. Importantly, the model also simulated the wet machining condition by understanding the role of water removing the melt ejected during the process which avoided backwall damages. Results with the fibre laser in millisecond pulse duration were used for the validation purposes. The conclusions reached in this project and recommendations for future work are enclosed.The work has resulted in the publication of 3 journal papers and 2 additional journal paper submissions.

Uma condição do processo de manufatura é a necessidade de se obter peças processadas, caracterizadas pela boa qualidade de acabamento superficial, baixa rugosidade e a conservação de suas propriedades metalúrgicas. Essas condições motivaram o desenvolvimento deste estudo, no qual selecionou-se o processamento de materiais a laser para o corte do aço ABNT 1045, unindo uma tecnologia a um metal muito utilizado na indústria. Além disso, a versatilidade e as vantagens, como também a tendência global do setor industrial, tornaram-se fatores preponderantes na utilização do laser como processo de corte. No presente trabalho foram investigados os efeitos da variação da potência de corte, da velocidade de corte e da pressão do gás de assistência na usinagem por laser contínuo de CO2 sobre a qualidade do corte, onde foram realizadas diversas análises utilizando-se a estatística do planejamento experimental. Após a obtenção das amostras foram analisadas a formação de rebarbas, a rugosidade, o perpendicularismo, a zona termicamente afetada, a microestrutura do material e por fim a microdureza da região obtida pelo corte a laser. Com base nestes dados construíram-se arranjos fatoriais, por meio da metodologia de planejamento experimental, a fim de avaliar o grau de influência dos parâmetros e suas possíveis interações e assim averiguar sua significância estatística. Apesar da complexidade dos efeitos e das interações dos parâmetros envolvidos, os resultados corroboram para que a melhoria do processo de corte a laser do aço ABNT 1045 possa ser factível. / A condition of the manufacturing process is the need to get processed parts, characterized by good quality surface finish, low roughness and the conservation of its metallurgical properties. These conditions have motivated the design of this study, in which we selected the materials processing laser for cutting steel ABNT 1045, joining a technology to a metal widely used in industry. Moreover, the versatility and advantages, as well as the overall trend of the industry have become important factors in the use of laser as the cutting process. In the present study investigated the effects of varying the cutting power, cutting speed and pressure of assist gas in machining by continuous CO2 laser on the quality of the cut, where several analyzes were performed using the statistical planning experimental. After obtaining the samples are burrs, roughness, the perpendicularity, the heat affected zone, the microstructure of the material and finally the hardness of the region obtained by laser cutting were analyzed. Based on these data were constructed factorial arrangements, using the methodology of experimental design in order to assess the degree of influence of the parameters and their possible interactions and thus determine their statistical significance. Despite the complexity of the effects and interactions of the parameters involved, the results corroborate that the improvement of laser cut steel ABNT 1045 process may be feasible.

Orientador: João Batista Fogagnolo / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T20:13:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RodriguezPerez_JessicaMarlena_M.pdf: 4283527 bytes, checksum: 428a287377aaab009ef368ca3005561b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: O interesse em ligas do sistema titânio-nióbio para aplicações ortopédicas se deve à excelente resistência mecânica e biocompatibilidade, sendo que o módulo de elasticidade pode ser controlado pelo teor de nióbio. Existem diversos processos que podem tornar estas ligas adequadas para uso como biomaterial e que resultam em diferentes fases com diferentes propriedades. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo modificar peças sinterizadas de ligas do sistema titânio-nióbio por refusão superficial por laser. Foram utilizadas ligas com diferentes composições químicas, variando-se o teor de nióbio de 5 a 45% em peso. Foram analisados os efeitos da variação dos parâmetros de processamento, potência e velocidade de deslocamento do feixe laser, sobre a morfologia de cordões isolados. Foram obtidas camadas contínuas de refusão por sobreposição de cordões de isolados. As amostras sinterizadas com teores de nióbio entre 5 e 20% apresentaram as fases ? e ?. A amostra com teor de nióbio de 25% e maiores apresentam regiões com fase ? completamente estabilizada e regiões com as fases ? e ? devido à heterogeneidade química na distribuição de nióbio. A amostra com teor de nióbio de 45% apresenta apenas a fase ?, porém também se observa nessa amostra a heterogeneidade na distribuição de nióbio. Constatou-se que a potência do feixe de laser é o parâmetro de maior influência na morfologia e dimensões da zona fundida dos cordões isolados. Dependendo do teor de nióbio, diferentes fases são formadas nas camadas continuas de refusão. Para teor de nióbio de 5%, obtém-se a fase martensítica ?', de estrutura hexagonal. Para teor de nióbio de 15%, obtém-se majoritariamente a fase ?' com presença da fase martensítica ortorrômbica ?''. Para teor de nióbio de 25%, obtém-se a fase ?'', com pequena fração de fase ?. Para teor de nióbio de 35 e 45%, obtém-se a fase ? em toda a zona fundida e a fase ?'' na zona termicamente afetada. Tanto os cordões isolados como as camadas refundidas das amostras com teores de 15, 25, 35 e 45% em peso de nióbio apresentaram heterogeneidade química devido à microssegregação de soluto durante a solidificação. Os valores de módulo de elasticidade medidos por nanoindentação foram decrescentes para aumentos da quantidade de nióbio, tanto nas zonas modificadas pelo laser quanto no substrato sinterizado. Os valores de nanodureza mantiveram-se constantes, dentro da variação estatística dos resultados / Abstract: The interest in alloys of the titanium-niobium system for orthopedic applications is due to their excellent mechanical resistance and biocompability, as the elastic modulus may be controlled by niobium content. There are several processes that can make those alloys adequate to be used as biomaterials and that result in different metallic phases with different properties. The objective of this study was to modify, by laser surface remelting, sintered parts of alloys from the titanium-niobium system. Alloys with different chemical compositions were used; the niobium content varied from 5 to 45wt%. The effects of the variation of processing parameters (laser beam power and scan speed) on the morphology of the isolated tracks were analyzed. Continuous remelting layers were obtained by overlapping isolated tracks. The sintered samples with niobium content between 5 and 20% exhibited both ? and ? phases. The sample with a niobium content of 25% or more had regions of completely stabilized ? phase and regions of ? and ? phases due to the chemical heterogeneity in the niobium distribution. The sample with a 45% niobium content showed only the ? phase, but heterogeneity in the niobium distribution is also seen. It was found that the laser beam power is the parameter that most influences the morphology and dimensions of the molten area of isolated tracks. Depending on the niobium content, different phases are formed in the continuous remelting layers. For a niobium content of 5%, the martensitic ?' phase of hexagonal structure is obtained. For a niobium content of 15%, the ?' phase is mostly obtained, with the presence of orthorhombic, martensitic ?'' phase. For a niobium content of 25%, the ?'' phase, with a small fraction of ? phase, is obtained. For niobium contents of 35 and 45%, ? phase throughout the molten area and ?'' phase in the heat affected zone are obtained. Both the isolated tracks and the continuous remelting layers on the samples with niobium weight contents of 15,25,35 and 45wt% presented chemical heterogeneity due to solute microsegregation during solidification. The values of elastic modulus measured by nanoindentation decreased as the niobium content increased, both in the laser modified zones and in the sintered substrates. The values of nanohardness remained constant within the results' statistical variation / Mestrado / Materiais e Processos de Fabricação / Mestra em Engenharia Mecânica

A distribuição da energia espacial do feixe de laser é de grande importância para a eficiência em tratamentos dermatológicos. Os métodos existentes para a calibração do feixe podem ser realizados por meio de equipamentos óticos ou por materiais fotossensíveis. Este trabalho apresenta uma metodologia que pode ser descrita por quatro fases. Na primeira, foi obtido o polímero poliacetal, material que foi responsável por registrar o perfil transversal do feixe de laser (Nd:YAG 1064 nm). Na segunda fase os valores referenciais dos parâmetros do feixe foram extraídos por meio do método knife edge. Posteriormente, as técnicas de processamento de imagem foram aplicadas sendo responsáveis pela extração de características do feixe registradas no polímero. Como resultados, determinaram-se os seguintes parâmetros: área do feixe, circularidade, perfil da borda, assinatura, diâmetros, divergência e cintura do feixe. Na última fase o feixe foi classificado em calibrado e descalibrado por meio da Rede Neural Artificial (RNA) Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), que apresentou 88,5% de taxa de acertos. Outro parâmetro utilizado para a calibração foi a circularidade, onde adotou-se o valor limiar de 0,85 para decisão entre feixes calibrados e feixes descalibrados. Frente aos resultados obtidos, considera-se bem sucedida a proposta para a inspeção de qualidade de feixe laser para aplicação dermatológica, apresentando-se como um método de calibração alternativo com maior precisão quando comparado a análises por meio da visualização humana. / The spatial distribution of laser beam energy is of great importance to the efficiency of dermatologic treatments. The existing methods beam calibration can be performed with optical equipment or photosensitive materials. This paper presents a methodology which can be described by four phases. At first it was obtained polyacetal polymer, a material that was responsible for registering the transverse profile of the laser beam (Nd:YAG 1064 nm). In the second phase, the reference values of the beam parameters were extracted using the knife edge method. Subsequently, the image processing techniques were applied being responsible for extracting features of the beam recorded in the polymer. As a result, we determined the following parameters: beam area, circularity, the edge profile, signature, diameter, divergence and beam waist. In the last phase the beam was classified calibrated and uncalibrated with Artificial Neural Network (ANN) Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), which showed 88.5% hit ratio. Another parameter used for calibration was the circularity, where we adopted the threshold value of 0.85 for decision between calibrated and uncalibrated beams. Given our results, it is considered a successful proposal for the quality inspection of laser beam for dermatological application, presenting itself as an alternative method of calibration with greater precision when compared to analyzes by human viewing.

Objetivo: Avaliar os efeitos da radiação laser de Érbio:YAG na resistência óssea, frente a ensaios mecânicos de flexão de três pontos. Método: Foram utilizados fêmures de 15 ratos jovens machos albinos, da variedade Wistar, divididos aleatoriamente em dois grupos. Todos os animais foram sacrificados num mesmo tempo, após comprovada a efetividade anestésica, procedendo com a exposição e remoção dos ossos intactos. Os trinta fêmures ficaram assim divididos: Grupo I (controle): 15 ossos sem nenhum tipo de tratamento adicional e Grupo II (experimental): 15 ossos que sofrerem irradiação com laser de Er:YAG. As amostras obtidas foram acondicionadas em formol 10% tamponado em um vidro âmbar, por um período de três dias para fixação. Em seguida as amostras de ambos os grupos foram submetidas ao teste de resistência mecânica através do ensaio de flexão de 3 pontos, numa máquina de ensaio universal Emic DL2000 a uma velocidade de ensaio de 5mm/min e célula de carga de 50kgf. Resultados: Apesar dos valores encontrados para a resistência óssea serem numericamente diferentes, eles não apresentaram diferença estatística significante (p>0,05). Conclusão: A radiação laser com Er:YAG não altera a resistência óssea à flexão, pois o grupo tratado não apresentou diferença estatística significante quando comparado com o grupo controle. Contudo, a diferença numérica apresentada entre os grupos deve ser considerada clinicamente. / Aim: Evaluate the effect of the Erbium:YAG laser radiation in the bone resistance, front the mechanical test in three-point bending. Methods: They had been used femures of 15 male rats albinus, of the Wistar variety, divided in two groups. All the animals had been sacrificed in one same time, after proven the anesthetical effectiveness, proceeding with the exposition and removal from the unbroken bones. The thirty femures had been thus divided: Group I (control): 15 bones without no type of additional treatment and Group II (test): 15 bones that to suffer irradiation with laser from Er: YAG. The gotten samples had been conditioned in formol 10% in a buffered glass amber, for a period of three days for its setting. In followed the samples of both the groups they had been submitted to the resistance test mechanics through in three-point bending test, in universal test machine Emic DL2000 with a 5mm/min speed and with cell of 50kgf. Results: Although the medium values showed of bone resistance were different, but they here not difference significant statistics (p> 0,05). Conclusion: The laser radiation with Er: YAG does not modify the bone resistance flexure, therefore the treat group did not present difference significant statistics when comparative with the group it has controlled. However, the presented numerical difference enters the groups must clinically be considered.