Due to their compactness, durability, and flexibility, diode lasers are widely used in medicine for procedures such as hair removal, skin resurfacing, soft tissue surgery, photodynamic therapy (PDT), and endovenous laser treatment (EVLT). A diode laser is a semiconductor device that converts electrical current directly into a focused beam of light. It works on the same basic principle as an LED, but with a key difference: the light it produces is coherent, meaning the waves are organized and travel in the same direction. Unlike traditional lasers that require complex optical pumping systems, diode lasers generate. The US-Israeli Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) was used to shoot down rockets and artillery shells before being canceled in 2005 as a result of "its bulkiness, high costs and poor anticipated results on the battlefield". A diode laser is like an LED.
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