IPG Photonics’ fiber laser achieves 2 kW output

A new fiber laser can attain 2 kW of single mode output power, IPG Photonics Corp.

By Control Engineering Staff April 21, 2005

A new fiber laser can attain 2 kW of single mode output power, IPG Photonics Corp . announced recently. The Ytterbium fiber laser (1,075 nm) emitted from a 19-micron low mode fiber provided what is said to be record brightness compared to all results and demonstrations to date. Dr. Valentin Gapontsev, company CEO, presented the results at Photonics West earlier this year.

IPG said the fiber laser produced a single mode parallel beam with an M2 (a measure of beam quality) of &1.2. The laser will be added to the company’s expanding line of commercial fiber lasers that are said to offer perfect beam, record brightness, ultra-long diode life, maintenance-free operation, and a compact footprint. The product has a single mode fiber delivery for easy integration into set-ups and systems. The fiber makes use of IPG’s newest high in-fiber efficiency (>50%) semiconductor diodes. With output power up to 20 W, the diodes have high brightness.

“We have produced the absolutely brightest continuous wave laser of any kind,” said Dr. Valentin Fomin, a project leader from IPG Laser GmbH, the German subsidiary of IPG Photonics. “Only chemical lasers are able to provide higher power density in short-term pulses, but fiber lasers can operate continuously for years,” he added.

IPG Photonics designs and manufactures high-performance fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers, and Raman pump lasers for materials processing, aerospace, test and measurement, and other applications.

—Jeanine Katzel, senior editor, Control Engineering, jkatzel@reedbusiness.com