Beam shaping for LDAs

Irvine, CA—One of the most repeated concerns with laser diode arrays (LDA) used for material processing is the brightness factor, which impacts in applications such as drilling and cutting. Now Apollo Instruments Inc. (www.apolloinstruments.com), with the aid of Missile Defense Agency SBIR funding, has developed beam-shaping optics that addresses this concern.

Their beam-shaping technology substantially maintains LDA brightness whole increasing power output through beam combination using specialized optical elements that shape and rearrange laser beams to achieve high-efficiency and high-power fiber-coupled diodes.

With this technology the company plans to facilitate the development of kilowatt-level fiber lasers with high beam quality, expecting to attain 1 kW output by midyear. At that time the company plans to market this laser for industrial processing.