Open AccessJoining Dissimilar Materials with Pulsed Nanosecond Fiber Lasers
Author(s) -
Gabzdyl Jack,
Capostagno Daniel
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
laser technik journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1863-9119
pISSN - 1613-7728
DOI - 10.1002/latj.201700011
Subject(s) - nanosecond , materials science , laser , optoelectronics , fiber laser , amplifier , power (physics) , optics , continuous wave , flexibility (engineering) , welding , pulse (music) , physics , detector , composite material , wavelength , statistics , mathematics , cmos , quantum mechanics
Industrial use of nanosecond lasers for applications such as marking, engraving, cutting, and even micromachining is well known – however, the use of these sources for welding and joining is relatively new. Most applications of high‐peak‐power, short‐pulsed lasers tend to be related to material removal, so their use for joining is perhaps counterintuitive. However, the versatility afforded by master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA)‐based nanosecond fiber sources give unparalleled flexibility in terms of control of the output characteristics. These lasers can be used, for example, with high‐peak‐power nanosecond pulsed output with tunable pulse duration and high frequency‐modulated quasi‐continuous‐wave (QCW) modes, as well as operated as a more conventional continuous‐wave (CW) laser.