Abstract
Fibre optic delivery of high beam quality Nd:YAG laser light is investigated for high accuracy cutting and drilling applications. An average power of 25 W was successfully delivered through a 50 μm core diameter fibre, and we were able to control the output beam quality and profile through the design of the launch optics and by introducing controlled mode-coupling. In addition, a phase-scrambling technique using an active fibre modulator was demonstrated, reducing laser speckle in the beam profile caused by interference between the fibre modes. A non-intrusive dual-function fibre optic-based sensor has been designed and evaluated for incorporation into the fibre beam delivery system. This sensor firstly enables the laser focus to be accurately positioned (± 0.05 mm) relative to the workpiece, minimising the hole-tapering problems which focal errors produce. Secondly, it makes inter-operational measurements of the diameter of laser-drilled holes, or of the width of cut slots. The fibre delivery system was evaluated in high precision, low kerf-width cutting of stainless steel, and the sensor applied in percussion-drilling.Fibre optic delivery of high beam quality Nd:YAG laser light is investigated for high accuracy cutting and drilling applications. An average power of 25 W was successfully delivered through a 50 μm core diameter fibre, and we were able to control the output beam quality and profile through the design of the launch optics and by introducing controlled mode-coupling. In addition, a phase-scrambling technique using an active fibre modulator was demonstrated, reducing laser speckle in the beam profile caused by interference between the fibre modes. A non-intrusive dual-function fibre optic-based sensor has been designed and evaluated for incorporation into the fibre beam delivery system. This sensor firstly enables the laser focus to be accurately positioned (± 0.05 mm) relative to the workpiece, minimising the hole-tapering problems which focal errors produce. Secondly, it makes inter-operational measurements of the diameter of laser-drilled holes, or of the width of cut slots. The fibre delivery system was ...
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