How it works
Here is how it works. Water is the main target. Skin is mostly water, and 10600nm light is absorbed very strongly by water in tissue, so the energy stays shallow and predictable instead of scattering deep. That absorption behavior is what makes a CO2 laser ablative rather than merely warming.
In fractional mode the beam is split into a grid of tiny columns. Each column drills a microscopic thermal channel into the skin while the tissue around it stays untouched. Only a fraction of the treated zone takes a micro-injury, so the surrounding intact skin drives a fast healing response. As those channels close, collagen reorganizes and new collagen forms. Over the following weeks the skin firms, texture smooths, and scars and pigment irregularities soften.
The idea rests on selective photothermolysis: pick a wavelength your target absorbs, then keep the pulse short enough that heat does its job before spreading to neighboring tissue. On the CF-01 the short ultrapulse output and adjustable focal spot let a trained operator dial ablation depth up or down. A smaller focal spot reaches deeper; a larger one keeps the effect shallow.



