Development of high intensity blue diode laser system for materials processing (Conference Presentation)

Abstract

High intensity blue diode laser system has been developed for materials processing of especially difficult processing material such as copper. A blue diode laser has an advantage in materials processing of copper since it has a higher absorption rate than traditional lasers whose wavelengths are in infrared region. A blue laser light with the power of 100 W and wavelength of 445 nm could be output from an optical fiber whose core diameter and NA were 100 m and 0.22 since high efficiency coupling of blue lasers emitted from laser diodes using an optical fiber with the core diameter of 100 m was achieved in this system. The intensity of 1.3 x 106 W/cm2 on the substrate was easily obtained at the output power of 100 W and the laser spot diameter of 100 m. The blue laser has already been applied to welding and additive manufacturing. In thermal heat welding, welding of a thin copper plate and a stainless steel pipe was completed. Laser metal deposition (LMD), which was a technology of additive manufacturing, with pure copper powders was performed using the blue laser. The blue laser was also installed in a 3D printing equipment using copper powders based on selective laser melting (SLM) method of additive manufacturing. The performance of the blue laser in materials processing experiments of welding, LMD and SLM in addition to its characteristics and the difference between those experimental results with the blue laser and the traditional infrared diode laser are reported.