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The 4-kilowatt TeraBlade direct-diode laser

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Jun 3, 2007
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The first direct-diode laser bright enough to cut and weld metal
Diode lasers—used in laser pointers, barcode scanners, DVD players, and other low-power applications—are perhaps the most efficient, compact, and low-cost lasers available.
Attempts have been made over the years to amplify the brightness of these valuable lasers for industrial applications, such as welding and cutting metal. But boosting power usually means decreasing beam quality, or focus. And the beam never gets intense enough to melt metal.

Now MIT Lincoln Laboratory spinout TeraDiode is commercializing a multikilowatt diode laser system that's bright enough to cut and weld—even through a half-inch of steel—at greater efficiencies than today's industrial lasers.

The 4-kilowatt TeraBlade runs on a novel power-scaling technique developed at MIT that manipulates individual diode laser beams into a single output ray. This allows for boosting power of a diode laser, while preserving a very focused beam.


Read more at: The first direct-diode laser bright enough to cut and weld metal




A TeraDiode laser cuts through one-sixteenth inch thick stainless steel. Credit: TeraDiode
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Joined
Feb 25, 2010
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We need this technique ! Yea....so do many others !! You watch, bet this will appear in time at our level of use ! Hmmmmm, Maybe ??? To me...This is new !
 
Joined
Dec 11, 2011
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It's a pretty simple process; they're just using a diffraction grating to combine multiple beams of different wavelengths into a single beam. The advancement is more in the fact that they have an array of near but not identical wavelength diodes.

I'm curious how they are getting around chromatic aberration in the optics systems.
 
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Jan 5, 2011
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I'm curious how they are getting around chromatic aberration in the optics systems.

* the bandwidth is not large.
* it is in infrared where the refractive index is flatter.
* who cares when the power is measured in kilowatts :drool:
 
Joined
Jun 25, 2011
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Just saw this on space daily. I wonder if they manipulate the wavelength using temperature or input current? maybe both? i never thought about using a diffraction grating for combining before, but I see now how it could work.
 




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