January 25, 2005, San Jose, CA--JDSU has announced an Industrial Diode Laser System (IDL) laser architecture that incorporates multiple single-emitter diodes combined into a single output fiber, and provides up to 100 watts of power. JDSU is showing this latest and most powerful member of its IDL family, the IDL 100, this week at Photonics West.
High lifetime and reliability, coupled with a uniform, "top hat" beam profile, are advantages in applications such as selective laser soldering and plastic welding. JDSU's IDL products are used for plastic welding of exhaust manifolds, key bobs, CV joints, light weight plastic gasoline tanks, and many other plastic parts needed in automobile production. The 100-watt version is expected to enable plastic welding of components with high glass content, parts with low absorption, and/or allow for greater production throughput.
"Historically, pulsing has resulted in a dramatic reduction of lifetime. This has proven not to be the case with telecom grade diodes," said Phillip Meredith, vice president of JDSU's Commercial Laser Products Group. "The telecom industry presents far harsher environmental requirements than the commercial market. Therefore, leveraging JDSU's telecom expertise gives us an advantage in developing innovative laser solutions for the industrial and commercial laser market."