Table of Contents
Key features of modern fiber lasers
Modern fiber lasers differ from other industrial laser sources by their brightness, stability, and flexibility. Fiber laser systems are widely used in the manufacturing industry because of their efficiency, reliability, quality, and low cost of operation, which makes it possible for machines to cut, weld, mark, and micromachine materials.
All the industrial fiber lasers are distinguished by their unique properties that include a sealed optical cavity and a single-mode, guided-wave medium. Modern fiber laser systems have an absolutely sealed optical path that is non-sensitive to environmental contamination; it remains optically aligned and doesn’t require adjustment. Fiber laser systems have either in-fiber or hermetically fiber-coupled internal components.
Pulsed and Continuous Wave (CW) green fiber lasers
All the higher-power fiber lasers combine several single-mode modules into a high-brightness delivery fiber in fused fiber combiners. This union of the waveguiding of a single-mode laser and the fully sealed optical cavity guarantees a reliable laser design that is fixed and measured during the manufacturing and has minimal change over time and temperature. Sealed pump diodes and unbreakable fiber technology allow creating fiber laser systems that can be used in production for several years without any adjustments or degradation.
Fiber lasers vs. disk lasers
The choice between fiber laser and disk laser sources depends on commercial considerations of service and support, and, of course, added-value features. The main problem of fusing glass is resolved by fiber laser manufacturers, and it can withstand the intensity that melts or ablates different metals, while disk laser manufacturers create the precision optical-mechanical-thermal design with the aim of making a stable, high-brightness output.
Main fields of application
The fields of fiber laser application:
- High-speed remote welding. At the present time, laser welding is more preferable than ultrasonic and resistance welding because of the productivity and weld strength qualities.
- Materials processing. The brightness, stability, and flexibility of fiber laser system designs enable new materials processing uses, even including on-the-fly settings or adaptation of the process to changes in materials in production.
- Manufacturing solutions. Fiber lasers become an ideal solution for manufacturing because they have high beam quality and do not require any adjustment or maintenance.