Industrial applications of high power diode lasers in materials processing

Diode lasers are widely used in communication, computer and consumer electronics technology. These applications are based on systems, which provide power in the milliwatt range. However, in the mean time high power diode lasers have reached the kilowatt power range. This became possible by special cooling and mounting as well as beam combination and beam forming technologies. Such units are nowadays used as a direct source for materials processing. High power diode lasers have entered the industrial manufacturing area [Proceedings of the Advanced Laser Technologies Conference 2001, Proc. SPIE, Constanta, Romania, 11–14 September 2001].