Abstract

The ablation characteristics of the output of an ArF excimer laser at 193 nm when applied to the corneal tissue have received much attention because they offer the prospect of correcting visual errors by actually reshaping the cornea. The reshaping of the cornea is done by projecting onto the cornea the image of a small aperture, which is in effect etched onto the cornea with every pulse of the laser. The extent and type of correction under consideration (myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism) determine the shape of the aperture as well as its trajectory onto the cornea. The summation of the elementary ablations over the cornea yields the global required ablation. Mathematical developments explaining how the shape of the apertures as well as their trajectories are determined to obtain a given correction are explained. Optical components other than the cornea could be machined in an analogous manner.

© 1988 Optical Society of America