IPL Light Guide

IPL Light Guide & Filters

IPL light guides and filters are the key optical element for IPL (intense pulsed light) machine, which filters the UV wave and reserves the useful wave from 400nm to 1200nm for cosmetic lasers, such as photorejuvenation, hair removal, vascular and acne treatment. Available wavelength: 400, 420, 460, 490, 515, 530, 550, 560, 570, 590, 615, 645, 695, 755, 780, 810nm.

Intense pulsed light (IPL) devices are non-laser high-intensity light sources that make use of a high-output flash lamp to produce a broad wavelength output of no coherent light, usually in the 400 to 1200nm range. Light pulses generated by most modern devices are produced by bursts of electrical current passing through a xenon gas-filled chamber.1 The lamp output is then directed toward the distal end of the handpiece, which, in turn, releases the energy pulse onto the surface of the skin via a sapphire light guide or quartz light guide or BK7 light guide.

Most of the currently available IPL emission devices, however, can be limited at the lower end of the emission spectrum by using dichroic or “cut off” filters to more selectively target desired cellular or structural elements. Although most IPL devices have one or two cutoff filters, available cutoff filters include 515, 550, 560, 570, 590, 615, 645, 690, and 755nm and function by blocking emission of shorter wavelength light. Apart from wavelength, a wide range of other treatment parameters including pulse duration, pulse sequences, and pulse delay time may be customized on most devices, affording users greater versatility and precision. Therefore, one attractive feature of IPL devices is their ability to treat various targets with the same device by applying different filters.

Another well-recognized advantage of IPL devices is the relatively large footprint of their spot size and their resulting treatment speed, allowing one to limit the total number of pulses per treatment to a minimum and affording a swift treatment of large anatomical areas.