Fiber lasers for material processing

Bill Shiner

doi:10.1117/12.601648

8 March 2005 Fiber lasers for material processing

Bill Shiner

Proceedings Volume 5706, Critical Review: Industrial Lasers and Applications; (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.601648
Event: Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering, 2005, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

Low power fiber lasers began entering the commercial markets in the early 1990s. Since their introduction, fiber lasers have rapidly progressed in power levels level with greatly improved beam quality to the point where they now exceed any other commercial material processing laser. These lasers, with single mode operation to 1 kilowatt and multi-mode operation to beyond 20 kilowatts, have high wall plug efficiency, an extremely compact footprint, are maintenance free and have a predicted diode life beyond 100,000 hours of continuous operation. Fiber lasers are making inroads into the scientific, medical, government, and in particular, material processing markets. These lasers have greatly expanded the application umbrella due to their unparallel performance combined with the ability to operate at different wavelengths, address remote applications and be propagated great distances in fiber. In the material processing markets, fiber lasers are rapidly gaining share in the automotive, microelectronic, medical device and marking markets, to name a few. The single mode lasers are redefining process parameters that have been accepted for decades. The high brightness multimode-kilowatt class lasers are achieving speeds and depths greater than comparable powered conventional lasers while providing the only commercial material processing lasers operating beyond 6 kilowatts at the 1 micron region.

Citation Download Citation

Bill Shiner "Fiber lasers for material processing", Proc. SPIE 5706, Critical Review: Industrial Lasers and Applications, (8 March 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.601648

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