Current status and most recent developments of industrial high power disk lasers

Abstract

The disk laser concept aggregates high efficiency, excellent beam quality, high average and peak power with moderate cost and high reliability. Therefore it became one major technology in industrial laser material processing. In several large scale installations in the automotive industry, high power cw-systems make already use of the high brightness and high efficiency of disk lasers, e.g. in remote welding [1,2]. Other applications including cutting, drilling, deep welding and hybrid welding are arising.This report highlights the latest results in cw disk laser development. A 1.5 kW source with a beam parameter product (BPP) of 2 mm mrad is described as well as the demonstration of a >10 kW system out of two disks with a BPP of 8 mm mrad. The future prospects regarding increased power and even further improved productivity and economics are presented. A new industrial disk laser series with output powers up to 16 kW and a beam parameter product of 8 mm*mrad will enable both, new applications in the thick sheet area and very cost efficient high productive applications like welding and cutting of thin sheets.The disk laser concept aggregates high efficiency, excellent beam quality, high average and peak power with moderate cost and high reliability. Therefore it became one major technology in industrial laser material processing. In several large scale installations in the automotive industry, high power cw-systems make already use of the high brightness and high efficiency of disk lasers, e.g. in remote welding [1,2]. Other applications including cutting, drilling, deep welding and hybrid welding are arising.This report highlights the latest results in cw disk laser development. A 1.5 kW source with a beam parameter product (BPP) of 2 mm mrad is described as well as the demonstration of a >10 kW system out of two disks with a BPP of 8 mm mrad. The future prospects regarding increased power and even further improved productivity and economics are presented. A new industrial disk laser series with output powers up to 16 kW and a beam parameter product of 8 mm*mrad will enable both, new applications in the thic...