INDUSTRY LASERS


Sheet metal cutting with a fibre laser. Photo courtesy of Amada, Japan


Pumping up high-performance fibre lasers


Breakthroughs in laser diode and fibre-coupling technologies are enabling low-cost, high-reliability sources with remarkable sheet metal cutting capabilities


BY ERIK ZUCKER FROM JDSU


CHANGE IS AFOOT in the sector of the laser market covering high-power sources for metal processing. This ‘macro’ material market has traditionally been dominated by CO2


lasers,


but lasers based on the optical pumping of a doped fibre are now winning significant market share, thanks to their combination of low cost of ownership and excellent cut quality on a wide variety of metals. According to Industrial Laser Solutions, which has been working with analyst Strategies Unlimited, the macro fibre laser market


is growing at 24 percent per year, and should hit


$536 million in 2014. In comparison, sales of CO2 lasers in this sector are falling by 7 percent per year, and will be worth $647 million this year.


If the current trend in the macro fibre laser market continues it will not be long before the dominant source is a semiconductor-pumped fibre laser – a laser in which GaAs-based laser diodes are used to pump ten metres or more of fibre, which has a Bragg grating at either end to form a resonant,


Copyright Compound Semiconductor Issue VI 2014 www.compoundsemiconductor.net 55


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