High-brightness blue direct-diode laser

from Shimadzu emits 50 W from 100micron 0.2-NA fiber

10/21/2014
By John Wallace
Senior Editor

A 50 W blue-emitting direct-diode
laser is well-suited for machining
copper and gold. (Courtesy of
Shimadzu Corp.)
Researchers from the Sensor Device Business Unit, Device
Department, Shimadzu (Kanagawa, Japan) have created a blue-emitting direct
diode laser that focuses light from 30 individual 450-nm-emitting laser diodes
into an optical fiber with a 100-m-diameter core; the direct-diode laser
produces 50 W of optical power at a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.2. The
laser's wavelength is much better suited than near-IR laser light for some
materials-processing applications -- for example, machining copper (Cu) and
gold (Au).
One of the notable characteristics of this laser is its electrical-power to lightconversion (wall-plug) efficiency of 20%.
The laser uses a spatially multiplexed beam-combining arrangement, in which
collimated beams from all the laser diodes are aligned in parallel and sent

through a lens that focuses the resulting beam onto the input end of the
fiber. The researchers decided to forgo using spectral multiplexing
(combining laser diodes of different wavelengths using dichroic optics), as
that approach requires preparing light sources with multiple wavelengths and
and produces an output with a broader spectrum.
The researchers started with a basic unit containing five laser diodes; two of
these units were first combined to make a 10 W direct diode laser whose
output is high enough on its own to anneal amorphous silicon or weld
plastics. The laser showed a wavelength variability of less than 0.04 nm/C
over the 15 C to 30 C temperature range.
They then used the same spatial multiplexing approach to create the 50 W
laser (shown in figure). Future research includes higher-power lasers of this
type.
For more info,
see: http://www.shimadzu.com/products/opt/laser/5iqj1d000002095b.html
Emailsensor@group.shimadzu.co.jp