A heat-sinking self-referencing fiber optic emission probe

A novel heat-sinking, self-referencing fiber optic emission probe having a sapphire fiber probe head is described. The laser heating effect in a GaAs wafer (on a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) platform) has been measured with the probe in both the noncontact proximity mode and the contact mode. The GaAs/PTFE composite was selected to simulate the thermal conductivity of animal tissues. It was found that for the same laser power delivered to the wafer, the temperature rise in the contact mode was only 42% of that in the proximity mode. Additionally, a demonstration of the self-referencing capability of the probe is also presented.