A 4kW cw YAG laser and its applications

We have developed a commercial 4 kW cw lamp-pumped YAG laser for industrial use. This laser— a multi-rod system — has 8 pumping units arranged in a line, each of which has one YAG rod and two lamps incorporated. A unique structure is employed for the pumping units to enhance the laser power output as well as to keep the beam quality high enough to couple into an optical fiber, thus attaining the maximum output of 4.8 kW. Moreover, the use of a silica optical fiber (length: 10 m, core diameter: 1.0 mm) allows a laser beam to be transmitted at the efficiency of 92%. In our welding experiments, this laser system demonstrated excellent characteristics, producing a penetration depth of 10 mm for the stainless steel and that of 4 mm or over for the aluminum alloys.We have developed a commercial 4 kW cw lamp-pumped YAG laser for industrial use. This laser— a multi-rod system — has 8 pumping units arranged in a line, each of which has one YAG rod and two lamps incorporated. A unique structure is employed for the pumping units to enhance the laser power output as well as to keep the beam quality high enough to couple into an optical fiber, thus attaining the maximum output of 4.8 kW. Moreover, the use of a silica optical fiber (length: 10 m, core diameter: 1.0 mm) allows a laser beam to be transmitted at the efficiency of 92%. In our welding experiments, this laser system demonstrated excellent characteristics, producing a penetration depth of 10 mm for the stainless steel and that of 4 mm or over for the aluminum alloys.