DIODE LASERS
The FiberLaser from SDL Inc. (San Jose, CA)--introduced in February 1997--represents the commercialization of an entirely new diode-laser-based technology. Its development began as a joint effort between SDL and Polaroid (Waltham, MA); SDL developed a high-brightness diode-laser pum¥source that emits at a previously unavailable wavelength, and Polaroid researchers produced a high-reliability, double-clad optical fiber. System integration results in a compact, air-cooled package specified to produce 9 W of CW TEM00 output at 1.1 µm with an efficiency of more than 60%. The high-quality beam results from the laser cavity being a single-mode optical fiber, and this monolithic design reduces the number of optical components and sensitivity to misalignment. The FiberLaser is being shipped in increasing numbers to the graphics arts market (through Polaroid) for thermal platesetting and imagesetting applications and is making inroads in displacing conventional laser systems in thermal marking and other material-processing applications.
