Fiber-coupled air-cooled high-power diode laser systems

Daniel Bartoschewski; Jens Meinschien; Udo Fornahl

doi:10.1117/12.763199

13 February 2008 Fibre-coupled air-cooled high-power diode laser systems

Daniel Bartoschewski, Jens Meinschien, Udo Fornahl

Proceedings Volume 6876, High-Power Diode Laser Technology and Applications VI; 68761M (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.763199
Event: Lasers and Applications in Science and Engineering, 2008, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

Current laser systems based on high-power laser diode bars need active cooling either water cooling or the use of thermo-electric coolers to ensure an adequate operating temperature for a reasonable lifetime. Here is a solution with a bonded fin heat sink and forced ventilation introduced, a diode laser bar with an improved efficiency and a low thermal resistance as well as an optical system for a highly efficient fibre coupling. With this system it is possible to couple 25 Watt continuous wave power from a single laser diode bar on a passive heat sink into a fibre with 200 μm core diameter. The basis for this performance is a heat sink with an exceptionally low thermal resistance. Several new features are introduced to reach a low overall gradient between the laser diode temperature and the ambient temperature. In addition, it does geometrically fit to the layout of the optical design. Shape and aspect ratio of both heat sink and housing of the laser system are matched to each other. Another feature is the use of hard-soldered or pressed bars to achieve a thermo-mechanically stable performance. The long-term thermal characteristic was tested. The operation temperature comes to saturation after about 30 minutes. Therefore it can be used for continuous wave operation at 25 Watt output power. At a quasi continuous operation at 70 percent duty cycle a peak power of 30 Watt out of the fibre is possible. From this technology results a compact fibre coupled laser system what is simple to drive compared with current high power laser systems, because there is no need to control the operating temperature. This gives way for more compact driver solutions. Fields of application are laser marking systems and material processing, where a simple driver system is requested. Also medical applications need this requirement and a compact cooling too so that mobile integrated solutions become possible. Further developments allow multiple laser diode systems for specific industrial applications demanding more power. Our measurements show the potential for direct air-cooled laser systems with 100 Watt power out of the fibre.

Citation Download Citation

Daniel Bartoschewski, Jens Meinschien, and Udo Fornahl "Fibre-coupled air-cooled high-power diode laser systems", Proc. SPIE 6876, High-Power Diode Laser Technology and Applications VI, 68761M (13 February 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.763199

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

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
9 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Semiconductor lasers

Laser systems engineering

High power lasers

Diodes

Surgery

Continuous wave operation

Micro optics

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years