83 W, 3.1 MHz, square-shaped, 1 ns-pulsed all-fiber-integrated laser for micromachining
Date
2011-08-29Source Title
Optics Express
Electronic ISSN
1094-4087
Publisher
Optical Society of America
Volume
19
Issue
18
Pages
17647 - 17652
Language
English
Type
ArticleItem Usage Stats
238
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Abstract
We demonstrate an all-fiber-integrated laser based on off-the-shelf components producing square-shaped, 1 ns-long pulses at 1.03 mu m wavelength with 3.1 MHz repetition rate and 83 W of average power. The master-oscillator power-amplifier system is seeded by a fiber oscillator utilizing a nonlinear optical loop mirror and producing incompressible pulses. A simple technique is employed to demonstrate that the pulses indeed have a random chirp. We propose that the long pulse duration should result in more efficient material removal relative to picosecond pulses, while being short enough to minimize heat effects, relative to nanosecond pulses commonly used in micromachining. Micromachining of Ti surfaces using 0.1 ns, 1 ns and 100 ns pulses supports these expectations. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America