Fiber-coupled high-brightness high-power diode laser for solid-state laser pumping and material processing

Bodo Ehlers; Stefan Heinemann; Falk Doerfel

doi:10.1117/12.478369

19 June 2003 Fiber-coupled high brightness high power diode laser for solid-state laser pumping and material processing

Bodo Ehlers, Stefan Heinemann, Falk Doerfel

Proceedings Volume 4973, High-Power Diode Laser Technology and Applications; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.478369
Event: High-Power Lasers and Applications, 2003, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

Two applications emerge as drivers for higher brightness fiber-coupled diode lasers: advanced solid-state pumping schemes and materials processing. In contrast to the well-established side-pumping schemes of laser rods, advanced pumping schemes for today's solid-state lasers make use of the high brightness of the pump sources to increase the performance and efficiency of the solid-state laser. Materials processing applications such as metal welding and cutting are commonly served with solid-state lasers or CO₂ lasers. Lately, the increased lifespan, reduced systems costs and increased brightness of fiber-coupled diode laser systems make them a new alternative. In this work, a diode laser system is described that yields 250 wats in a 600 micrometer spot with a numerical aperture 0.2 of the focused beam, corresponding to a F/# of 2.4. The system is based on a single 15 bar stack that operates in cw-mode. For brightness enhancement, it incorporates a measure to increase the fill factor of the emitting aperture and polarization multiplexing. The brightness in the focus spot is 10⁵W/cm² with a F# of 2.4 focusing optic and 3x10⁵W/cm² with a high speed of F/# of 1.4. To achieve the required symmetry for fiber coupling, the system incorporates a beam transformer that assimilates the beam quality along the two main axes of the beam profile. A monolithic design is chosen to reduce alignment tolerances and to increase ruggedness.

Citation Download Citation

Bodo Ehlers, Stefan Heinemann, and Falk Doerfel "Fiber-coupled high brightness high power diode laser for solid-state laser pumping and material processing", Proc. SPIE 4973, High-Power Diode Laser Technology and Applications, (19 June 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.478369

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available