Paper
22 February 2017 TruMicro Series 2000 sub-400 fs class industrial fiber lasers: adjustment of laser parameters to process requirements
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Abstract
The matchless properties of ultrashort laser pulses, such as the enabling of cold processing and non-linear absorption, pave the way to numerous novel applications. Ultrafast lasers arrived in the last decade at a level of reliability suitable for the industrial environment.1 Within the next years many industrial manufacturing processes in several markets will be replaced by laser-based processes due to their well-known benefits: These are non-contact wear-free processing, higher process accuracy or an increase of processing speed and often improved economic efficiency compared to conventional processes. Furthermore, new processes will arise with novel sources, addressing previously unsolved challenges. One technical requirement for these exciting new applications will be to optimize the large number of available parameters to the requirements of the application.

In this work we present an ultrafast laser system distinguished by its capability to combine high flexibility and real time process-inherent adjustments of the parameters with industry-ready reliability. This industry-ready reliability is ensured by a long experience in designing and building ultrashort-pulse lasers in combination with rigorous optimization of the mechanical construction, optical components and the entire laser head for continuous performance. By introducing a new generation of mechanical design in the last few years, TRUMPF enabled its ultrashort-laser platforms to fulfill the very demanding requirements for passively coupling high-energy single-mode radiation into a hollow-core transport fiber. The laser architecture presented here is based on the all fiber MOPA (master oscillator power amplifier) CPA (chirped pulse amplification) technology. The pulses are generated in a high repetition rate mode-locked fiber oscillator also enabling flexible pulse bursts (groups of multiple pulses) with 20 ns intra-burst pulse separation. An external acousto-optic modulator (XAOM) enables linearization and multi-level quad-loop stabilization of the output power of the laser.2 In addition to the well-established platform latest developments addressed single-pulse energies up to 50 μJ and made femtosecond pulse durations available for the TruMicro Series 2000.

Beyond these stabilization aspects this laser architecture together with other optical modules and combined with smart laser control software enables process-driven adjustments of the parameters (e. g. repetition rate, multi-pulse functionalities, pulse energy, pulse duration) by external signals, which will be presented in this work.
© (2017) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Florian Kanal, Max Kahmann, Chuong Tan, Holger Diekamp, Florian Jansen, Raphael Scelle, Aleksander Budnicki, and Dirk Sutter "TruMicro Series 2000 sub-400 fs class industrial fiber lasers: adjustment of laser parameters to process requirements", Proc. SPIE 10083, Fiber Lasers XIV: Technology and Systems, 100832F (22 February 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2252433
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KEYWORDS
Fiber lasers

Picosecond phenomena

Laser processing

Pulsed laser operation

Femtosecond phenomena

Laser applications

Laser stabilization

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