Improved hollow-core photonic crystal fiber design for delivery of nanosecond pulses in laser micromachining applications
- 20 July 2005
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Optica Publishing Group in Applied Optics
- Vol. 44 (21) , 4582-4588
Abstract
We report the delivery of high-energy nanosecond pulses (~65 ns pulse width) from a high-repetition-rate (up to 100 kHz) Q-switched Nd:YAG laser through the fundamental mode of a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (HC-PCF) at 1064 nm. The guided mode in the HC-PCF has a low overlap with the glass, allowing delivery of pulses with energies above those attainable with other fibers. Energies greater than 0.5 mJ were delivered in a single spatial mode through the hollow-core fiber, providing the pulse energy and high beam quality required for micromachining of metals. Practical micromachining of a metal sheet by fiber delivery has been demonstrated.Keywords
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