Open AccessAdjustable ring shaping for laser welding applications
Author(s) -
Brodsky Alexander,
Kaplan Natan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
photonicsviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2626-1308
pISSN - 2626-1294
DOI - 10.1002/phvs.202100046
Subject(s) - laser , optics , welding , laser beam welding , materials science , multi mode optical fiber , fiber laser , rotation (mathematics) , ring (chemistry) , energy (signal processing) , computer science , optoelectronics , optical fiber , physics , chemistry , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , metallurgy
High laser welding speed can be achieved by using a ring and central spot laser illumination profile, with an adjustable ratio of the ring energy to the spot enabling optimization of the process. We present a novel and simple diffractive‐based concept to achieve such adjustable shaping for standard fiber lasers. The module is rotation‐adjustable between 100 % energy in the central spot to no energy in the central spot, can work with both single‐mode and multimode lasers, is highly compact (less than 20 mm long) and has the high LDT of passive diffractive components. This concept obviates the need for special ring‐type fiber lasers, enabling simpler design of the welding laser head.