Category: Applications of Fiber Lasers

Nowadays, fiber laser systems are used in many areas such as the military, industry, and medicine. Due to rapid fiber laser development, significant progress has been achieved in science and technology. This article focuses on fiber lasers — from their key features to the systems and applications.

Fiber laser characteristics

Fiber lasers have a range of characteristics that make work processes easier and measurements more efficient. Their main advantages include compact size, reliability, low maintenance cost, and simple thermal management. These qualities make fiber lasers suitable for environmental monitoring, telecommunications, medical treatment and diagnostics, and material processing.

The continuous development of fiber lasers significantly impacts daily life. Performance improvements result from advances in design and fiber materials. Scientists have optimized laser output power, wavelength range, and integration with compact system designs.

Fiber laser systems applications

Small and mid-size laser modules are among the most popular and convenient options. Combined with process management and control software, fiber lasers offer time- and labor-saving advantages in cutting, marking, and welding. Compact fiber laser designs provide high-quality performance across different applications.

3D printing

For example, laser modules are widely used in 3D printing due to their speed and quality advantages. Tests show that fiber lasers increase build rates while maintaining high quality and consistency. Specialists can adjust the laser beam size and shape in real time without complex optics.

Welding

In welding, laser modules attract attention due to the demand for processing smaller components. They are widely used in battery welding, turbine engine production, and the automotive industry. This popularity is driven by their speed, consistency, and automation potential. Compared to manual welding, laser welding techniques are much easier and more precise.

Finishing, cleaning, and marking

Fiber laser systems are also used for finishing and cleaning to improve the appearance of weld seams or prepare surfaces. They are widely applied in marking products and parts for tracking and traceability, especially in aerospace, firearms, and medical industries.

Overall, the demand for fiber laser systems continues to grow every year. They are already used in many fields and are expected to expand further. Their success is driven by high productivity and ease of use.

Many articles about lasers on the Web focus on high-power fiber lasers, which are impressive, linked to science fiction, and widely used in industry. However, fiber lasers are also popular in other fields. Though less powerful, they have found applications in medicine.

Fiber laser technology benefits

Fiber laser technology has a significant impact in medicine by enabling new applications. Their unique features and versatility allow use in diagnostic imaging and surgery. Despite lower power, they provide high accuracy. Fiber lasers enable safe, contactless procedures for patients. Medical staff find them easy to use due to their compact design. Different fiber lasers operate in unique ways and can be used for various treatments. The laser beam can be delivered continuously or in pulses. Adjusting the wavelength allows specialists to control the effect on tissue and achieve desired results. These parameters can be customized during manufacturing.

Most common applications of fiber lasers

Specialists can now detect various diseases by observing changes in molecular composition. For instance, endoscopic fiber catheters provide imaging diagnostics during artery bypass surgery.

Fiber lasers with broad spectra are used in OCT to capture cross-sectional diagnostic images.

Procedures like tattoo removal or skin resurfacing often use CO2 lasers. Recent studies show that conventional fiber lasers can also be effective.

Laser surgery employs light beams for operations. When the laser hits the skin, it may reflect, scatter, or penetrate tissue layers. Certain areas absorb the light, causing tissue changes. Fiber lasers are often used to shrink or destroy tumors and seal small blood vessels to prevent bleeding.

Overall, fiber laser systems remain highly effective medical tools, trusted by specialists and patients alike.

Fiber laser technology in medicine

Fiber laser technology has become one of the most powerful instruments in medicine, including cancer treatment. Laser therapy uses an intensely focused laser beam to destroy or shrink cancer cells. It can remove tumors while preserving healthy tissue. The therapy targets a specific part of the body to prevent further disease progression.

Tumor cells absorb light at different wavelengths compared to healthy cells. Selecting the appropriate fiber laser wavelength allows effective destruction of tumor cells.

Application of fiber laser therapy

Fiber laser treatment is mainly used in surgery, especially in complex operations with high patient risk. Fiber laser systems reduce pain, swelling, and bleeding. They allow specialists to seal lymphatic vessels, nerve endings, and blood vessels, minimizing complications during and after surgery. Fiber lasers can be applied at various cancer stages. They help limit the spread of cancer cells, treat precancerous cells on organ surfaces, and alleviate symptoms of advanced cancer. Fiber laser modules can destroy portions of tumors. Fiber laser therapy is now often delivered via a flexible endoscopic fiber catheter. This narrow tube monitors internal tissues and delivers light directly to the therapy site. Specialists can destroy or cut tumors with precise laser beams.

Advantages and disadvantages

Compared to conventional surgery, fiber lasers have several advantages. They more accurately seal cut tissues, causing less damage. Patients experience reduced pain and scarring. Operations take less time, recovery is faster, and some procedures can be performed in a doctor’s office rather than a hospital.

Despite these benefits, fiber laser therapy has some drawbacks. It is more expensive than conventional tools, though specialized equipment is often cost-effective due to convenience. Laser therapy requires trained personnel, which can be a challenge for hospitals. The effects may not always be long-lasting, sometimes requiring repeat procedures. Overall, fiber laser systems provide more benefits than drawbacks, improving safety and convenience for patients and doctors.

Fiber laser systems kill bacteria

Recently, scientists have developed new fiber laser systems capable of killing bacterial superbugs and spores. Bacteria that threaten human life adapt to medicines, including antibiotics. This prompted developers to explore alternative treatments. In some cases, the solution is a special ultrashort-pulse fiber laser.

Fiber laser modules’ effects

Researchers in the United States discovered that fiber lasers emitting ultrashort pulses can eliminate drug-resistant bacteria. They studied the germicidal properties of ultrashort-pulse lasers and found that fiber laser modules can inactivate bacteria and viruses without harming human cells. They tested common viruses and bacteria, including those causing skin, organ, urinary tract, and wound infections, as well as spores responsible for food spoilage and poisoning, some of which resist cooking and boiling.

All bacteria and viruses contain protein structures. The ultrashort-pulse fiber laser makes these structures vibrate until molecular bonds break, causing faulty linkages that stop normal protein function.

Importance of laser power

To achieve the desired results, scientists must provide precise laser power. Different pathogens require specific laser powers. If the power is too high, human cells can be damaged. Therefore, there is an optimal power range that destroys pathogens while keeping human cells intact.

Future of this fiber laser technology

Developers envision ultrashort-pulse fiber laser technology as a way to inactivate pathogens while preserving human proteins and cells. It could disinfect surgical wounds or treat bloodstream infections. This technology may also replace harmful chemicals like bleach or radiation, providing safer handling of biological and blood products.

Results show fiber lasers can kill about 99.9% of target bacteria and reduce their quantity by 1,000 times, without harming human cells, making them suitable for wound sterilization and disinfection.

Fiber lasers have gained significant attention due to their qualities, practical benefits, and wide applications. A variety of wavelengths allows specialists to use fiber laser systems in industrial environments for welding, cutting, and texturing. Ultraprecise fiber lasers are applied in fields where high accuracy is critical, such as medicine, micromachining, and scientific research.

History of the fiber lasers’ development

The history of fiber lasers began with the invention of the first laser in 1961. Early lasers were complex and expensive, which limited their popularity. Fiber lasers found serious commercial applications only in the 1990s, as the technology gradually developed.

Today, fiber laser technology continues to improve, producing more powerful and efficient systems. Specialists focus on increasing accuracy and reducing environmental impact. Combining outputs from multiple fiber lasers has enhanced both power and beam range.

Medical applications of ultrafast fiber lasers

Ultrafast fiber laser systems have many applications, with medicine being one of the most critical fields where they are indispensable. Fiber lasers have greatly contributed to healthcare, used from therapy to surgery. Their high-power densities in sterile, noncontact processes enable efficient cauterization and faster recovery. Fiber laser technology has rapidly adapted to evolving medical procedures.

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) uses fiber laser light to destroy abnormal cells. Initially, PDT was developed for specific cancer types, including cancerous and precancerous cells.

Advances in PDT have extended its application to general oncology and other cancers. This noninvasive or minimally invasive method shortens recovery time and is more convenient for patients.

Fiber lasers have been used in dentistry for decades, providing faster, less painful treatments and shorter recovery periods.

Requirements for dental fiber lasers include essential characteristics such as wavelength and physical properties like size for optimal performance.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was initially developed for ophthalmology but now finds broader medical applications.

OCT uses laser light to capture cross-sectional images for diagnostics. High-resolution images allow detection of small infections at early stages and aid in monitoring treatments.

Fiber lasers are increasingly used in aesthetic, cosmetic, and dermatology procedures. Compared to CO2 lasers, fiber lasers now demonstrate high effectiveness due to technological advances.

Fiber laser systems are used for precise radiation treatments. Wavelength, beam quantity, and design determine efficiency and penetration depth. Multiple fiber lasers can be arranged to target a line or specific areas.

Common aesthetic uses of fiber lasers include skin resurfacing and tattoo removal. Advanced procedures include treatment of vascular lesions, micro-preparation of skin, and psoriasis. With ongoing advancements, fiber lasers are becoming more powerful and precise, making them essential in medical procedures and scientific research.

Laser modules are applied in various industrial fields due to the wide spectrum of produced wavelengths. High-power fiber laser systems are commonly used for welding, marking, cutting, etc. Low-power but more precise fiber lasers are suitable for applications requiring high accuracy, for example, in science and medicine.

This article focuses on two applications of low-power fiber laser modules: laser pumping and optical trapping.

Most Common Advantages of Laser Modules

Laser diodes are applied in optical pumping of fiber lasers and DPSS. They are highly effective, robust, and compact. Laser modules provide high peak energy and stable beam quality.

The principle of photon confinement in rare-earth doped fiber gives fiber lasers an advantage: stability. Since a fiber laser generates the beam within the core, it does not require complex or sensitive optical components. Conventional lasers, on the contrary, rely on optical fibers for beam regulation and mirror reflection, which demand frequent precise adjustments. Fiber lasers are less sensitive to vibrations and shocks, maintaining operational stability.

The doped fiber core limits the beam, ensuring higher accuracy and more effective focusing.

Energy efficiency is another strength of fiber lasers. They convert almost all input into the beam, minimizing thermal conversion. This improves thermal protection and reduces degradation.

Most conventional laser sources use water cooling, while fiber lasers use air cooling to dissipate heat. This improves portability and reduces power consumption. Modern air-cooling systems, based on advanced heat dissipation studies, have proven highly effective in mitigating thermal effects.

Fiber laser systems with 1–100 W output power offer a wide range of wavelengths.

Fiber Laser Systems in Optical Pumping

Optical pumping of a laser medium is illumination by an external light source to transfer it to an excited state. Fiber lasers, like all laser systems, require an excitation source to pump energy into the system.

Methods of Optical Pumping

The most common methods of optical pumping include semiconductor lasers (diodes), solid-state, and fiber lasers. Both solid-state and fiber lasers are pumped with diodes.

Pumping can be continuous or pulsed. The difference lies in the delivery method: the pumping source is connected to the fiber core and fused into a double-clad fiber. The cladding material determines whether the absorption band is wide or narrow. Depending on this, conventional or wavelength-stabilized diodes may be applied.

Fiber Laser Modules in Optical Trapping

Optical trapping uses a focused laser beam to hold and manipulate microscopic objects. This technology is widely used in biomedical research.

Applications in Biomedical Research

Optical trapping can study single molecules thanks to its ability to work with nanoparticles. This has greatly advanced research on DNA and proteins.

Most optical trapping systems use laser modules with a 1 μm wavelength, which reduces the risk of biological damage. This range is optimal for aqueous biological specimens with a low absorption coefficient.

Synergy of Optical Pumping and Trapping

Together, optical pumping and optical trapping enable innovative applications in micro- and nanotechnology. Their combined efficiency brings new opportunities to science.