San Jose, CA—At the January Photonics West conference, Dr. Johan Nilsson of SPI (Southampton Photonics, Inc—Southampton, UK) and the Optoelectronics Research Centre of the University of Southampton, presented data from experiments that shows more than 270 W of single-mode power at 1080 nm from an ytterbium-doped fiber laser and more than 100 W of single-mode power at 1565 nm from an erbium-ytterbium fiber laser. The latter being of special interest because it operates in the so-called "eye-safe" wavelengths.
According to Stuart Woods, SPI's director of business development, "This development is typical of the ground-breaking work underway at SPI to bring disruptive, high-power fiber technology to market offering both lower unit and total ownership cost for customers in a variety of applications."
So another player enters the fiber laser market (see ILS February for reports from two established suppliers). Technology in industrial fiber lasers is moving much faster than expected, so readers can learn more about advances being made at SPI, by checking out its Website, www.spioptics.com. —DAB