Final answer:
Excimer lasers are used in CR scanners for corneal refractive procedures like LASIK, providing precise tissue ablation with minimal heat generation. The miniaturization and power enhancement of these lasers are due to the technique of chirped pulse amplification developed by Nobel laureates Strickland and Mourou.
Step-by-step explanation:
The type of laser used in CR (corneal refractive) scanners for procedures such as LASIK is known as an excimer laser. Excimer lasers are specifically designed for medical applications where precision is critical, such as laser vision correction surgeries. Thanks to their ability to evaporate rather than burn biological tissue, and due to their high absorption by corneal tissue, excimer lasers allow for very precise microcuts. The light from these lasers is well absorbed by biological tissues, and when coupled with the method of chirped pulse amplification developed by Donna Strickland and Gérard Mourou, these lasers can make highly accurate and minimally invasive incisions.
It is noteworthy that Strickland and Mourou's work allowed the miniaturization of lasers and greatly increased their power. Their method involves passing the light of the laser over a specific type of grating so that the beam is segmented in a manner that generates little heat at the source. This innovation was significant enough to earn them the Nobel Prize in 1918 for their advances in laser physics.