Alfalight 808C Laser Diode

 

Alfalight has extended its 808C laser diode series with new, advanced 808 nm, 3.5 W laser diode devices. The laser diodes offer 0.15 NA/105µm output fiber and provide 40% increase in output power. In addition, the laser diodes have an extended lifetime of 20,000 h and are available in 6-pin package.

Alfalight offers a 3 W version laser diode that has 0.07 nm/°C wavelength stability, which is greater than standard semiconductor lasers. The laser integrates the patented Wavelength Stabilization Technology (WST) that removes the need for accurate temperature control necessary for laser pumping applications.

Alfalight has also introduced new WST products such as the 5 W, 793 nm laser with 0.15NA/200µm output fiber, and the 30 W, 879 nm CPM III (Combined Power Module) with 685µm/0.22NA output fiber.

Alfalight’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Ron Bechtold, stated that the company provides increased output power without compromising its reliability standards, and will continue to develop robust and cost-effective laser diode systems.

High-power, multimode laser diodes are workhorses for many industrial applications. They are used as tools for cutting, welding, sintering and soldering various materials and as pump sources for fiber, disk and solid-state lasers. Many of these applications require fiber-coupled output or a uniformly focused beam.

The task of fiber-coupling and beam-formatting edge emitters is not simple because of large and asymmetric beam divergence. Expensive micro-optic arrays, interleavers and beam-transformation optics are needed to squeeze the power into a small fiber, and this drives the dollar-per-watt amount to more than an order of magnitude higher than the cost of manufacturing the laser diode.

Fiber-coupled or formatted beams are still too expensive or cost-prohibitive for many applications. Brighter diodes with a useful beam format that requires inexpensive and low-cost manufacturing techniques can further push down the dollar-per-watt figure. Alfalight Inc. in Madison, Wis., has developed an architecture that achieves just this – a two-dimensional array of curved-grating surface-emitting distributed feedback (SE-DFB) lasers.

Why brightness matters

Spatial brightness is defined as power generated per given area and solid angle. Therefore, using brighter sources, more power can be focused on smaller areas or coupled into smaller fibers. An ideal way to generate high power would be to combine single-mode diode lasers. Unfortunately, such sources produce, at most, 1 W of useful power and would require an unmanageable number of diodes for power-hungry industrial applications. Instead, multimode 100-μm-wide, broad-stripe laser diodes typically are used.

A single such device produces about 10 W of power out of a 100-μm, 0.15-NA fiber with a relatively simple coupling scheme, but further power scaling remains a challenge.

Combining more chips helps generate higher power but at the penalty of higher cost and complexity. An alternative method uses fiber coupling of bars and stacks. In this case, diffraction-limited collimators, expensive microlens arrays, interleavers and precision beam-formatting optics must be used in high-tolerance, complex configurations. These sophisticated elements between the source and the fiber are what drive the cost of high-power fiber-coupled systems.

A lower-cost solution

Arrays of SE-DFB lasers have several key attributes, lifting many limitations and cost drivers of current high-power laser diode systems. Those attributes are enabled by one crucial feature: a curved second-order grating etched on the p-side cladding of the laser chip (See sidebar).

Producing SE-DFB chips is more efficient than making standard edge-emitting lasers because key steps are performed early in the manufacturing process. Because fabrication of the laser output window and probe testing of individual lasers are performed directly on the wafer, known good dies are selected before the laser chips are even cleaved, avoiding potential yield losses at expensive downstream packaging steps.

The SE-DFB array architecture provides a number of additional cost-saving advantages over the current technology. Whereas edge emitters must be placed on the knife edge of expensive, diamond-turned heat sinks, SE-DFB lasers are simply picked and placed on a low-cost, flat heat sink with an order of magnitude looser tolerance. Lasers in an SE-DFB array are wired in series, substantially reducing power loss in cables and power supplies. Furthermore, low-current power supplies are cheaper, reducing the overall system cost.

Another key advantage of the SE-DFB architecture is that the electrical connection is isolated from the coolant. This avoids galvanic corrosion that plagues microchannel-cooled bar stacks. Even at the kilowatt level, SE-DFB arrays are cooled with standard house water.

Customized beam with simple optics

The simple way that SE-DFB lasers are laid out on a heat sink makes it straightforward to customize the geometry of an array for a given application. For example, certain applications require an asymmetrical, thin rectangular beam. This is the case for laser-based surface treatment, hardening and cladding operations, where the beam is used as a broad optical brush to sweep large surfaces quickly. An SE-DFB laser array can be arranged into a few columns, each containing a number of laser chips. Because the beam is readily collimated straight out of the chip in one direction, no collimating optics are needed for individual chips.

In the orthogonal direction, the beam diverges slowly with a full angle of about 8°. Each column therefore can be collimated with a single standard cylindrical lens. This architecture yields important cost savings with respect to the collimation of edge-emitting bars, which requires expensive, diffraction-limited fast-axis collimation microlenses.

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Figure 1. Shown is a 200-W surface-emitting distributed feedback (SE-DFB) laser array optimized for fiber coupling. Laser chips are arranged on a flat heat sink in a 4-6-6-4 configuration.
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Fiber-coupled SE-DFB arrays

Figure 1 shows a 200-W quasicircular SE-DFB array that is coupled into a fiber cable with high efficiency without using beam transformation optics. In this configuration, four cylindrical lenses are used to collimate four columns in a 4-6-6-4 arrangement, and a single aspherical lens focuses the beam into a 200-μm, 0.22-NA fiber. The most stringent mechanical tolerance in this module with respect to fiber coupling is about 3 μm, two orders of magnitude looser than the 50-nm precision required for performing the same operation with a stack of laser bars. More rugged fiber-coupled SE-DFB products can be envisioned, handling shocks, vibrations and thermal gradients better than the current technology.

Alfalight’s 200-W fiber-coupled module has been designed for pumping ytterbium-doped fiber lasers (Figure 2). The important challenge of wavelength yield for 976-nm modules is waived with SE-DFB technology because the grating precisely determines the output wavelength and guarantees a wavelength yield of virtually 100 percent across the wafer.

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Figure 2. Alfalight builds fiber-coupled 200-W SE-DFB array lasers. The 976-nm beam is coupled into a 200-μm, 0.22-NA fiber connector.
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Besides delivering a narrow spectrum centered on the ytterbium absorption peak, the technology comes with other practical advantages; for example, the wavelength shift over temperature is only 0.07 nm/°C – five times slower than standard laser diodes. The pump absorption in the doped fiber consequently has only a weak dependence on the temperature of the cooling water. On a system perspective, this means that several pump modules can be cooled with a unique chiller with no temperature tuning required to optimize absorption.

Wavelength-locked high-power laser diodes bring benefits to industrial applications other than pumping solid-state media; for example, laser soldering of thermoplastics is generally realized by overlapping a transparent with a strongly absorbent polymer. The laser beam transmits through the top layer to melt the bottom, absorptive material, joining both pieces upon cooling. Materials must be carefully chosen to meet the respective requirements of high transmission and high absorption at the laser wavelength. SE-DFB arrays could provide low-cost solutions for this application, with an operating wavelength tuned on absorption and transmission bands of specific polymers.

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Figure 3. The achievable output power of an SE-DFB laser array scales quickly as the constraint on the beam quality is relaxed.
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Power scaling

Power scaling of SE-DFB arrays is possible using a larger number of emitters per array, as plotted in Figure 3. An additional level of power scaling is achievable by interleaving two arrays, as illustrated in Figure 4. Alfalight is developing a kilowatt SE-DFB array based on this latter approach and has demonstrated polarization combining of SE-DFB arrays with efficiency better than 98 percent, thanks to a polarization extinction ratio better than 1:1000 for single SE-DFB lasers. Moreover, the wavelength-locked, narrow spectral bandwidth of each array makes power scaling beyond 1 kW achievable through wavelength beam combining over a relatively narrow band.

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Figure 4. Using an interleaver, two arrays can be combined to create a 1-kW SE-DFB laser module.
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Multikilowatt SE-DFB arrays would be a good fit for pumping high-power thin-disk lasers. A thin-disk laser can be pumped with a single beam, reflected several times by the pump cavity and absorbed by the thin solid-state gain medium over multiple passes. The benefits of simpler pump architecture and an emission wavelength locked on the absorption band of the disk would generate important cost savings, especially when scaled at the kilowatt level.

Limitations taken for granted on brightness, architecture and yield of high-power laser diode manufacturing are being lifted as the very first generations of SE-DFB lasers are being integrated into prototypes. Whether used as direct laser sources or for pumping fiber and solid-state lasers, SE-DFB laser arrays will quickly become a game changer for industrial applications.

Meet the authors

Manoj Kanskar is vice president of research and development at Alfalight Inc. in Madison, Wis.; e-mail: mkanskar@alfalight.com. François Brunet is product manager at Alfalight; e-mail: fbrunet@alfalight.com.

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What Is a Surface-Emitting Distributed Feedback Laser?

(A) A surface-emitting distributed feedback (SE-DFB) laser is based on a semiconductor quantum well and waveguide structure similar to more common edge-emitter laser diodes. Instead of being emitted through the edge of the chip, however, the output beam shines through a window on the top of the laser. Optical feedback from the edges of the chip is suppressed by an absorber region.

(B) The optical cavity-generating laser effect is formed by a curved second-order diffraction grating etched at the bottom of the laser.

(C) The first-order diffraction is steering the beam orthogonally from the waveguide, projecting it through the output window. The grating curvature shapes the wavefront to enhance brightness and collimate the beam in one axis.

(D) In the orthogonal direction, the beam slowly diverges with a full angle of 8°. A simple cylindrical lens collimates the beam.

In an invited talk today at Photonics West, Alfalight Inc. (Madison, WI) will present the first details of its Surface-Emitting Distributed Feedback (SE-DFB) laser diode technology. According to the company, this technology uses a significantly different approach at the wafer level to provide a lower-cost system solution with enhanced brightness and ruggedness compared to the edge-emitting laser technology. Key features include complete immunity to facet damage, on-chip integrated wavelength stabilization, and intrinsically high brightness that eliminates the need for expensive, precision optical elements.

In the talk, “High Brightness Surface-emitting Distributed Feedback (SE-DFB) Laser,” Alfalight’s VP of R&D Manoj Kanskar will describe SE-DFB technology, discuss experimental results, and outline configurations for combining chips into high power laser arrays. Prototype SE-DFB chips, and demonstrations of a SE-DFB-based array and a fiber-coupled module are on display at the Alfalight booth at Photonics West (booth 443).

Alfalight says its SE-DFB laser will reach beyond the capabilities of bar-based optical sources. “We are introducing a new approach to high power semiconductor lasers that will provide cost-competitive, robust and high brightness diode laser systems that will benefit fiber lasers, solid state lasers and direct diode applications,” said Kanskar. “SE-DFB lasers have unmatched power scaling and wavelength stabilization capability besides a singular brightness advantage over edge-emitting laser diodes. This technology has the potential to displace ubiquitous laser diode bars in many important applications.”

SE-DFB lasers are made of the same high-reliability semiconductor material used for Alfalight’s edge-emitting lasers. Whereas standard edge-emitting lasers emit through a small facet on the edge of the semiconductor chip, SE-DFB lasers emit through a large optical window on the surface of the laser chip. A curved grating patterned on the base layer of the semiconductor chip has four main functions:

1. To form the laser cavity, providing optical feedback precisely at the design wavelength, locking the emission spectrum on a narrow peak for any combination of operating temperatures and currents

2. To couple the laser beam out of the laser chip, through an AR-coated optical window while collimating it in one direction without the aid of external optics

3. To shape the optical wavefront to enhance brightness and suppress filamentation

4. To protect the device from external optical feedback

The optical density at the emission window of a SE-DFB laser is four orders of magnitude lower than at the facet of edge-emitting lasers, making SE-DFB lasers immune to catastrophic optical mirror damage (COMD), the main reliability issue plaguing current laser diode technology.

Several SE-DFB laser chips can be combined on a common heat sink and coupled into an optical fiber using simple optical elements. No micro-lenses or beam transformation optics are needed.

SE-DFB lasers offer the same 0.07 nm/°C wavelength stability as Alfalight’s proven Wavelength Stabilization Technology (WST) — a factor of five more stable over temperature than standard semiconductor lasers. Consequently, there is no need to precisely control the temperature of the SE-DFB laser chip. SE-DFB diodes can be driven by low-current power supplies, further reducing system costs.

Alfalight anticipates the technology will benefit applications such as pumping of high power fiber lasers and solid-state lasers, as well as direct diode applications such as materials processing, and IR illumination. For more information see Alfalight’s website.

Alfalight, Inc., an innovative manufacturer of highly efficient and reliable high-power diode lasers,  announced today that it has received a $1.2 million contract from the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) in Adelphi, MD. This 12-month program, entitled “High Brightness Diode Sources” (HiBriDS) will enable Alfalight to leverage the results of two previous programs in order to create laser diode modules with higher brightness and reliability than current technology diode lasers can provide. The new laser design will also have less-demanding manufacturing tolerance requirements, allowing resultant products to be more cost-effective and robust. Combined with Alfalight’s industry-leading power conversion efficiency and proven packaging expertise, this program will generate a pump laser solution that will enable improved fiber lasers for a broad range of industrial and defense applications.

“Past contracts from ARL have helped Alfalight to improve the spatial brightness of laser diodes,” said Manoj Kanskar, vice president of Research and Development at Alfalight. “This new program will allow us to further push brightness and power and enable us to develop high power arrays which can be cost-effectively fiber coupled.”

Results of this program will allow power scaling into kilowatt-class arrays for pumping fiber lasers and solid-state gain media, and as direct diode sources for applications such as marking, cutting, welding and materials processing.

For more information about Alfalight’s commercial high-power laser diode pump sources, please contact Anthony Bisco at abisco@alfalight.com or 608-240-4826.

About Alfalight, Inc.

Alfalight, Inc. is a technology innovator and manufacturer of highly efficient and reliable high-power diode lasers for industrial, defense, and telecommunications markets worldwide. The Madison, Wisconsin-based company’s advanced Aluminum-Free Active region (ALFA) diode lasers provide industry-leading efficiency, reliability, power and brightness. Alfalight has exclusive licenses to patents that include high-power narrow-spectrum lasers, single-mode lasers, and short-wavelength lasers. Alfalight’s current high-power diode laser product line includes fiber-coupled single emitters, combined power modules, and unmounted diode bars.

ARMY RESEARCH LABORATORY AWARD EXTENDS SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS TO ENABLE PUMPS FOR BRIGHTER, MORE COST-EFFECTIVE AND RELIABLE HIGH-POWER SOLID STATE LASERS

Alfalight, Inc., a leading manufacturer ofhighly efficient high-power diode lasers, announced today that it hasreceived a $1.36 million contract from the Army Research Laboratory (ARL)in Adelphi, MD. This 12-month program, entitled “High Brightness DiodeSources II” (HiBriDS II), will enable Alfalight to extend the success ofprevious programs to create solid state laser diode pump sources withhigher brightness and reliability than current technology can provide. Theobjective of the program is to demonstrate 1 kW of 975 nm narrowband,wavelength-locked diode laser light coupled into a 600 µm, 0.22 NA fiber.

“Alfalight’s past performance in DARPA’s ADHELS (Architecture for DiodeHigh Energy Laser Systems) and ARL’s HiBriDS programs has allowed us topush both the spatial and the spectral brightness of pump diodes byimplementing brightness enhancement and wavelength-stabilizationtechnologies,” said Manoj Kanskar, vice president of Research andDevelopment at Alfalight. “The extended scope of HiBriDS II will allow usto make a significant improvement to the brightness and power ofcost-effective kilowatt-class pump modules.”

The new design will require less-demanding manufacturing tolerances andfewer optical components to scale power, allowing resultant products to bemore cost-effective and robust compared to fiber-coupled bars. Productsresulting from the HiBriDS II program will also combine Alfalight’sintegrated wavelength stabilization technology, high power-conversionefficiency, and proven packaging expertise to enable products requiringonly industrial water cooling, rather than micro-channel cooling.Applications will include defense systems, commercial fiber laser pumping,and solid-state laser pumping as well as direct-diode materials processing.

About Alfalight

Alfalight, Inc., based in Madison, Wisconsin, is a leading developer andmanufacturer of highly efficienthigh-power diode lasers for industrial, defense, and telecommunicationsmarkets. The company’s advancedAluminum-Free Active region (ALFA) diode lasers and WavelengthStabilization Technology (WST) enable industry-leading efficiency,reliability, power and brightness. Alfalight’s exclusive technologyportfolio includes patents applicable to high-power narrow-spectrum lasers,single-mode lasers, and short-wavelength lasers. Alfalight’s currenthigh-power diode laser product line features chips on carrier,fiber-coupled single emitters and combined power modules. For moreinformation, visit www.alfalight.com.

The name Alfalight and the Alfalight logo are both registered trademarks of Alfalight, Inc.

We think of artists’ media as paints, fine metals and stone. But some prefer junk.

Mirrors framed with flattened pieces of colorful soda cans make quite a splash for Susie Levin of Kildeer. Her husband, Mitch, is a longtime recycler, creating everything from furniture out of found wood trimmed with metal to a line of huge dog sculptures welded from pieces of 55-gallon drums.

Jon Davenport of Hoffman Estates tears computers apart to make clocks and other works of art.

And Ron Starr, whose studio is in Lake Zurich, includes glass scraps left over from other artists when he forms dramatic vases or vessels in his series honoring fallen forests.

Recycling is definitely relevant for artists, who find it fits their philosophies and sometimes cuts their costs.

Susie Levin has sold about 200 Pop Art mirrors for $1,150 each through www.artfulhome.com, which features a few other items by the couple. People in the Levins’ neighborhood drop cans off, and Susie stores them by color in the garage.

The couple works together on many projects. Mitch put old wheels on the coffee table he made for the family’s living room, then Susie used a talent for selecting, mixing and applying paint for the wood squares on top.

“I find if Susie and I do it together it’s more gender neutral,” said Mitch Levin.

The couple gets really excited when they find things they can reuse. Sometimes the treasures are at garage sales, even sitting on a curb or gifts from friends or family.

While the large television in the family is modern technology, it sits on the concrete top of an entertainment center made of weathered wood-some that Susie has painted blue, red and purple-and decorated with recycled metal circles. People really like the way part of a front panel folds up to hide components, said Mitch.

Ceramic tile, metal house numbers, old tools and chunks of wood scrap are prime materials for projects like mirror frames.

Mitch’s Dogs in Motion series, inspired by the children’s book “Go Dog. Go!” includes a 6-foot blue dog welded together from pieces of metal drums over old steel furniture. The word “recycle” is spelled in scraps such as old gears – painted in bright colors.

“We try to be as green as we can be in this day and age,” said Mitch. “I do it because I like it and pieces fall into place most of the time.”

The Levins met in college, and both have degrees in graphic arts.

Artist’s secret: Perfect metal circles are hard to make, but people are always throwing out basketball hoops, and they work well in sculptures.

Jon Davenport’s love-hate relationship with computers – his day job includes developing web sites for an advertising agency – has led him to dismantling them to make artwork and clocks.

“I’ve been working in computer business since ’94. It’s very cathartic to rip apart computers into their smallest components and put them together in a more original way.”

The circuit boards make great back drops, and finally someone has found a way to use old compact discs. Sometimes they are just large, shiny circles, but he also cuts them into designs like star shapes. Hard drive spinners and lasers from CD ROMs can be eyes. Tiny wires that connect plastic pieces to the mother board make funky hair. A circle from a power supply is an ear and so decorative it’s also the ear ring. Hard drive readers work as hands.

He often adds little figures or details that could go unnoticed among the larger scenes in the clocks.

Hot glue and other adhesives hold the clocks together, but they can be fragile and should be dusted with compressed air, just like computers are.

Davenport will sell clocks ranging from about $30 to $100 Saturday and Aug. 31 at the Indie Design Market, part of the Chicago Antique Market.

Davenport’s degree is in film, and he plans to work on a master of fine arts degree.

“My art is not exactly accessible-you like it or you don’t. But clocks are functional. I liked working with computer parts and wanted something useful.”

Artist’s secret: The older the computer the better because the pieces are bigger.

Starr’s Arbor vases, among his series inspired by nature and trees, have seven layers of glass. Kevlar gloves and the help of a team are necessary when he hot sculpts or hand forms the pieces. “I have so many colors and layers and the outsides are very organic so it doesn’t need to have crystal-perfect type glass.”

Historically Starr has worked in glass and clay, and his degree featured ceramics.

“I travel to Colorado a lot and enjoy nature,” he said. “Specifically over the last couple years I have been interested in trees.”

His pieces are 24 to 50 inches tall and priced from $2,400 and up. You can find some of his works at www.artfulhome.com.

Artist’s secret: It’s rare to find a glassworker using this process.

•Susie and Mitch Levin sell some of their work at www.artfulhome.com. Their web site is www.highvoltagestudio.com.

•Jon Davenport will sell clocks Saturday and Aug. 31 at the Indie Designer Market, which is part of the Chicago Antique Market on West Randolph Street between Ada Street and Ogden Avenue in Chicago. Visit www.chicagoantiquemarket.com. Davenport’s site is www.yawwwwn.com.

•Ron Starr’s work is on www.artfulhome.com. His web site is www.ronstarrart.com.

ALFALIGHT LAUNCHES LASER PUMP SOURCES

At last week’s Photonics West event, high-power diode laser maker Alfalight Inc of Madison, WI, USA announced the availability of engineering samples of three new series of laser pump sources.

10W 940nm pump diodes in uncooled package

The AM6-940B series of laser pump diodes provide 10W of 940nm light output with a high-brightness 105µm 0.15 NA fiber.

To simplify PCB mounting, the single-emitter laser diode is available in an uncooled, compact 6-pin telecom-grade package that includes a temperature-monitoring thermistor. Target industrial markets include pumping fiber lasers, diode-pumped solid-state lasers, uncooled fiber amplifiers, and direct material processing.

Alfalight is leveraging its experience with high-reliability telecom devices to deliver what is claimed to be exceptional uncooled lifetime in a small form factor, says Bechtold. “This is the first of a family of 9XXnm 10W devices that we will introduce in 2008, as we continue to drive down the $/W ratio.”

5W 808nm pump diodes with integrated wavelength stabilization

The AM6-808B and AM6-808BW laser pump diodes provide 5W of 808nm light output with a 200µm 0.15NA fiber, extending recent advances achieved in the DARPA-sponsored Super High Efficiency Diode Sources (SHEDS) development program.

The single-emitter laser diodes are available in both standard 808±3nm and integrated wavelength-stabilization technology (WST) 808±1.5nm versions (AM6-808B-60-503 and AM6-808BW-60-501, respectively), and in a 6-pin industrial-grade package that includes a temperature-monitoring thermistor.

Alfalight’s proprietary WST integrates a holographically defined semiconductor grating at the wafer level to control wavelength drift to just 0.07nm/°C (versus 0.3nm/°C for the standard version). The stable ‘wavelength locking window’ is typically 30-40°C wide and spans the operating power range of the device, allowing uncooled operation in a tighter bandwidth and narrow spectrum over a wide temperature range. Due to the highly optimized monolithic design, the efficiency and reliability are on a par with non-stabilized devices without the added cost or complexity of external-grating approaches.

Target markets for the small-footprint device include: microlasers for projection and display systems; small, high-reliability diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) lasers; and small-form-factor green lasers.

“The rapid extension of our successful SHEDS and WST programs enables us to broaden our offering of innovative, high-efficiency, high-power commercial devices,” said VP of sales & marketing Ron Bechtold.

Wavelength-stabilized 30W 808nm laser modules for air-cooled DPSS lasers

The AC3-808B and AC3-808BW series of fiber-laser pump sources, packaged in third-generation CPM III combined power modules, combine seven single-emitter laser diodes to deliver 30W of 808nm light output.

The modules are available in both a standard BAL 808±3nm (AC3-808B-68-303) versions and an integrated WST 808±1.5nm (AC3-808BW-68-301) version, which allows air-cooled operation.

Packaged in a 3.35” x 2.73” x 0.67” lightweight aluminum case (with an attached 1m armored cable with SMA905 optical output connector), the compact modules include a thermistor for temperature monitoring

The stabilized performance of the 808nm WST diodes enables greatly extended reliability, says Bechtold. The CPM III modules provide over 20,000 hours mean-time-to-failure (MTTF) and do not suffer the catastrophic failure mode inherent in conventional bar-based emitters, says the firm. The new modules enable the upgrade of existing fiber-coupled bar-based DPSS laser systems or a move to new lower-cost air-cooled designs, Bechtold adds. Use of a 685µm fiber bundle with 0.15 NA gives higher brightness and easy incorporation into existing fiber-coupled bar-based 0.22 NA systems.

Target markets include industrial end-pumped DPSS lasers for Nd:YAG or Nd:YVO4 systems for end uses such as material cutting and processing, light welding, marking and printing.

Production volumes of all laser pump diodes will ship in March.

*At the Photonics West conference, VP of R&D Manoj Kanskar gave a presentation on “Wavelength-Stabilized and Spectrally Narrowed, High-Power, High-Efficiency 808nm and 975nm Diode Laser Pumps”.