Erik Zucker

110 W fiber laser

We demonstrate a Yb-doped double-clad fiber laser with record average power output of >110 W cw in a single spatial mode beam. The conversion efficiency was /spl sim/58% with respect to the incident pump power.

High-power high-efficiency 910- to 980-nm broad-area laser diodes

A new generation of very efficient high power laser diodes has been developed. The design was optimized for efficient operation of a long cavity device necessary to reduce electrical and thermal resistance. CW operation of a 100 μm wide laser at 25C yielded slope efficiency as high as 1.14W/A and 64% electrical-to-optical conversion efficiency. Optical power as high as 13.5 W for thermally limited CW operation and 17.3 W for pulsed operation were also recorded.

1.2-kW single-mode fiber laser based on 100-W high-brightness pump diodes

We have demonstrated a monolithic (fully fused), 1.2-kW, Yb-doped fiber laser with near-single-mode beam quality. This laser employs a new generation of high-brightness, fiber-coupled pump sources based on spatially multiplexed single emitters, with each pump providing 100 W at 915 nm within 0.15 NA from a standard 105/125 μm fiber. The fiber laser is end pumped through the high-reflector FBG using a 19:1 fused-fiber pump combiner, eliminating the need for pump/signal combiners. The output wavelength is 1080 nm, with a linewidth of < 0.5 nm FWHM. A peak power of 1.5 kW was reached in modulated operation (1-ms pulse duration) with M2 < 1.2.

Highly reliable high-power broad area laser diodes

We report results of multi-cell life tests performed on nearly (500) laser diodes representing our new generation of very efficient high power broad area 9xx nm lasers. The acceleration model showed a steep power dependence of the failure rate with an exponent of nearly 6. Improvement in the facet passivation process resulted in significantly less power acceleration of failures. Analysis of the life test on upgraded lasers showed median lifetime of 1,500,000 hours at operating conditions of 8W and 350°C. Optical powers as high as 17.8W for thermally limited CW operation and 32W for 20 μs pulsed operation were recorded. The CW life test was complemented by a life test performed at power cycling conditions (1Hz repetition rate, 50% duty cycle).

Advancements in laser diode chip and packaging technologies for application in kW-class fiber laser pumping

A new 100μm aperture, 920nm laser diode chip was developed to improve fiber coupling efficiency and reliability. These chips have been assembled into single-emitter and multi-emitter packages with 105μm diameter fiber-coupled output. The single-emitter package is rated for 12W operation, while the multi-emitter package is rated at 140W. Power conversion efficiency is 50%. Over one year of accelerated active life testing has been completed along with a suite of passive, environmental qualification tests. These pumps have been integrated into 2kW, 4kW, and 6kW fiber laser engines that demonstrate excellent brightness, efficiency, and sheet metal cutting quality and speed.

High-power, high-efficiency fiber-coupled multimode laser-diode pump module (9XX nm) with high reliability

We have developed a single-emitter multi-mode laser-diode-pump platform for high efficiency, brightness and high reliability in a small form factor. This next-generation package is scalable to higher optical power and offers a low-cost solution for industrial applications, such as fiber lasers, graphic arts and medical. The pump modules employ high coupling efficiency, >90%, high power-conversion efficiency, >50%, and low thermal resistance, 2.2°C/W, in an electrically-isolated package. Output powers as high as 18W have been demonstrated, with reliable operation at 10W CW into 105μm core fiber. Qualification results are presented for 0.15NA and 0.22NA fiber designs.

Reliability of high-power multi-mode pump modules

Developers building high-power fiber lasers and diode pumped solid state lasers can receive significant benefits in thermal management and reliability by using single emitter multi-mode diodes in distributed pump architectures. This proposed distributed architecture relies on independent single emitter pump lasers and a modest level of pump redundancy. Driving the remaining diodes slightly harder componensates individual diode failures. A model of the ensemble lifetime based on module failure rates and power-scaling factors demonstrates that the distributed pump architecture requires random failure rates corresponding to better than 200,000h mean time between failure (MTBF), which meets typical industrial requirements. A high power, pigtailed, multi-mode pump module suitable for commercial applications is created through this model. Critical elements are based on telecom architectures, including the optical train and the fiber alignment. The module has a low thermal resistance of 4°C/W from the chip-on-sub-mount to the external heat sink, coupling efficiency of over 80% into 0.2 NA, and demonstrated reliable output power of over 5W cw with peak wavelengths near 915 nm. Individual pump modules are predicted to produce 5W cw output power with an MTBF of more than 400,000h. The relationship between anticipated MTBF requirements, test duration and test population is shown.

Reliability and performance of InGaAs broad-area lasers emitting between 910 and 980 nm

High power InGaAs multi-mode broad area semiconductor lasers emitting between 190 nm and 980 nm are required as optical pumps for Er+ and Yb+ doped double clad fiber lasers and amplifiers. In this paper, we present performance and reliability of two generations of 100 micrometer aperture broad area devices emitting at 920 nm and 970 nm. The first generation devices have been deployed in the field with up to 2.5 W ex-facet optical power. More than 500,000 device-hrs of actual multi-cell lifetest data, and nearly 100 million accelerated device-hrs have been accumulated with 91FIT at 1.2W and 25 degrees Celsius or 1.9 million hrs MTBF at 2W and 25 degrees Celsius. A next-generation design further reduces thermal resistance, optical loss, and far-field divergence resulting in up to 4W ex-facet CW output power with superb reliability. Multi-mode fiber coupled modules demonstrate high coupling efficiency due to the reduced divergence angles of the new design. Lifetest of the new generation devices demonstrate the reliability of 167 FIT at 2W and 25 degrees Celsius or 499,000 hrs MTBF at 4W and 25 degrees Celsius.

High-power high-reliability cw and qcw operation of single AlGaAs laser diode array design

A single laser diode bar design, based on the AlGaAs material system, has been developed for high power, high reliability operation at a variety of CW and QCW operating conditions. The bar has a cavity length of 750 micrometer and a fill factor of 40%. Typical CW operation has a threshold current of approximately 10A and a conversion efficiency of greater than 45% at 40W. A variety of lifetests have been conducted at both CW and QCW operating conditions from the same bar design. On- going 3000 hr CW operation at 45C and 40W shows an extrapolated median lifetime (20% current increase) of 16,500 hrs at 45C or approximately 50,000 hrs at 25C (with 0.45eV activation energy). On-going 3000 hr QCW operation at 60C/60W and 35C/100W, with a pulse width of 200 microseconds and a duty factor of 2%, shows a median lifetime of approximately 10 billion shots and approximately 5 billion shots, respectively. In addition to single bar operation, this bar design can be stacked in various 2-D configurations. A 4 bar linear stack operating at 160W CW and a 6 bar vertical stack operating at 240W CW have been developed with superior performance. Results for high duty and low duty QCW stacks will also be presented.

100W high-brightness multi-emitter laser pump

We report results of a spatially-multiplexed broad area laser diode platform designed for efficient pumping of fiber lasers or direct-diode systems. Optical output power in excess of 100W from a 105μm core, 0.15NA fiber is demonstrated with high coupling efficiency. The compact form factor and low thermal resistance enable tight packing densities needed for kW-class fiber laser systems. Broad area laser diodes have been optimized to reduce near- and far-field performance and prevent blooming without sacrificing other electro-optic parameters. With proper lens optimization this produces ~5% increase in coupling / wall plug efficiency for our design. In addition to performance characteristics, an update on long term reliability testing of 9XX nm broad area laser diode is provided that continues to show no wear out under high acceleration. Under nominal operating conditions of 12W ex-facet power at 25C, the diode mean time to failure (MTTF) is forecast to be ~ 480 kh.