Title :
Delivery of high power laser beams in a distributed materials processing system
Author :
Coyle, R.J. ; Serafino, A.J. ; Grimes, G.J.
Author_Institution :
Bell Labs., Lucent Technol., Princeton, NJ, USA
Abstract :
An extensive multi-year experimental study of the delivery of high power laser beams through long step index plastic clad silica fibers was completed. The results show better than expected beam quality delivered at the work piece. An analysis of mode coupling in large step index waveguides was completed to explain the experimental results. One of the primary goals of this research was to develop the capability to predict the diameter of the optics required between the optical fiber and the work piece based on the size of the beam (which may depend on the power level), the size of the fiber, the numerical aperture NA of the fiber, and other parameters. Another goal was to characterize the effectiveness of relatively long delivery fibers in a typical manufacturing environment
Keywords :
gradient index optics; laser beams; laser materials processing; optical fibres; Nd:YAG laser; YAG:Nd; YAl5O12:Nd; distributed materials processing system; high power laser beam delivery; large step index waveguides; long step index plastic clad silica fibers; manufacturing environment; mode coupling; mode mixing; numerical aperture; relatively long delivery fibers; Fiber lasers; Laser beams; Laser modes; Optical fibers; Optical materials; Optical waveguides; Plastics; Power lasers; Silicon compounds; Waveguide lasers;
Conference_Titel :
Lasers and Electro-Optics Society Annual Meeting, 1998. LEOS '98. IEEE
Conference_Location :
Orlando, FL
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-4947-4
DOI :
10.1109/LEOS.1998.737755
