Table of Contents
Introduction to fiber laser engraving
Laser engraving is a rapidly growing area of fiber laser application. The process of fiber laser engraving consists of multiple stages. First, an intense diode light is pumped into the end of fiber optic cables that are doped with a rare earth element ytterbium. Next, the energy from the pumped light is absorbed by the ytterbium and later released in the form of photons that travel down the optical cables. Leaving the optic cable, the photons create the laser beam, which physically removes a surface layer of material to expose a cavity that reveals an image visible to the human eye. These steps are performed almost instantly, making ytterbium fiber laser engraving quick and efficient. Most engraving machines are able to work with most kinds of metal, plastic, glass, and wood surfaces.
Advantages of ytterbium fiber laser marking systems
Ytterbium fiber laser marking systems offer advantages over diode-pumped, solid-state lasers. Because lasers are primary light amplifiers, it is no wonder that the search for more powerful, more efficient, and the most reliable solid-state light amplifier for industrial applications has resulted in adaptations of a variety of lamp-pumped and diode-pumped amplifiers for lasers used in marking and engraving. Nowadays, ytterbium fiber laser amplifiers are being used in commercial and industrial applications where they operate on 24/7 duty cycles.
High efficiency and beam coherence
Ytterbium fiber lasers are special thanks to their extremely efficient optically pumped design. Such fiber lasers develop remarkably high gains from a reliable low-light source. In addition to this, the active clad fiber pumping technique creates coherence in the beam structure that is closely a small, compact, robust, energy-efficient, air-cooled, solid-state laser profile for direct part marking on a wide variety of materials.
Applications in identification and security
One of the biggest segments for laser engraving is in the identification security segment. Fiber laser engraving is used there for credit cards, ID cards, sensitive documents, etc. Ytterbium-doped lasers are used to engrave small, high-quality images and text that is tamper-proof, traceable, and customizable to each company’s needs. Laser engraving can also provide serial number engraving, timestamps, component labels, barcode etching, branding, etc. Due to the multiple advantages that fiber laser engraving provides, it has become an important tool in the identification, inventory control and tracking, and loss prevention.
Ytterbium lasers are a unique and extreme answer to the search for more powerful, more efficient, and more reliable solid-state light amplifiers for industrial part marking.