Fiber laser maker AdValue Photonics (Tucson, AZ) has expanded its applications lab for laser material processing, which includes two experienced PhD material scientists focusing on processing samples and developing processes for industrial material processing applications. The laboratory is also equipped with four laser workstations, including the company's industrial fiber lasers as well as metrology equipment for evaluations of processing results.
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One of the lasers in the applications lab is the company's EVERESTnano Green 515nm frequency-doubled fiber laser with 5ns pulse duration and 100µJ pulse energy at 300kHz and beam quality (M2) <1.2. These laser characteristics allow its use in drilling small through-holes in glass materials at high speed—for example, it can drill 1mm-diameter holes in 3.2mm-thick glass in <1 s.
Another laser installed in the applications lab is the company's EVERESTpico 1µm fiber picosecond laser, with pulse energy up to 50µJ at 500kHz, 50ps pulse duration, and M2 <1.3. The laser can cut hard materials such as sapphire and polycrystalline diamond (PCD), the former of which is commonly used as a cover glass for camera lenses in mobile devices because of its mechanical strength and scratch resistance.
The company's pulsed fiber lasers with wavelengths in the 1.5 and 2.0µm regions further add to the applications lab's capabilities, as they allow processing of materials with special absorption characteristics like transparent polymers or thin film materials in solar cells and other devices. Nanosecond pulses in these wavelengths are available for application tests and process feasibility studies.
For more information, please visit www.advaluephotonics.com.