Launch of Production and Sales of High-Performance Fiber Lasers -Laser Light Source Suitable for Analysis and Testing Applications in the Fields of Electronics and Biomedical Technologies-

Background of Development

Fiber laser is recently drawing attention for its advantages, in comparison with conventional solid-state lasers represented by YAG laser [Note 5], such as higher efficiency in energy conversion and superiority in beam quality.
Over the years, Furukawa Electric has been developing, producing and selling optical amplifiers for optical communications applications as the biggest supplier in Japan. Making use of its long-cultivated technologies in optical amplifier fibers, optical semiconductor lasers, optical passive devices, optical control and optical fiber splicing, the company has developed here high-reliability, high-performance fiber lasers.

Features of the Product

With its laser beam launched from a single-mode fiber having a core diameter of 10μm or less, the product has achieved high energy density and a good beam profile close to circular. Moreover, advanced technologies in optical passive devices and optical control have been integrated to achieve a high degree of stability in output optical power and wavelength.
Taking advantage of its characteristics, the product is expected to improve analysis sensitivity and resolution in the fields of analysis and testing, while high-precision processing would become feasible in the field of material processing. The fiber laser of polarization-maintaining version, in particular, can be combined with wavelength conversion devices to obtain visible-light lasers and ultra-violet lasers of high efficiency.
Being provided with technologies for optical elementary devices that make up fiber lasers, Furukawa Electric and its affiliated company OFS can quickly respond to customers’ various requirements to developing customized products.

Typical specifications for the product

Remark

The fiber laser and its related products will be exhibited at the LASER & OPTICS 2007 inside the 36th INTERNEPCON JAPAN to be held at Tokyo Big Sight from January 17 through 19, 2007.

Glossary

[Note 1] Fiber laser

Fiber laser is a generic name for lasers that use optical fibers as the lasing medium. Lasers amplify light by confining the light within a lasing medium in which stimulated emission can takes place, and they come in a variety of types including gas lasers that use a gas for the lasing medium (e.g. carbon dioxide gas laser), solid-state lasers (e.g. YAG laser), semiconductor lasers and liquid lasers.

[Note 2] Single-mode fiber

An optical fiber with a reduced core diameter in which only its fundamental mode is supported to propagate. Because of the fundamental-mode (i.e. single-mode) operation, waveform distortion due to arrival time deviation of signals is eliminated.

[Note 3] Polarization-maintaining fiber

While, in an ordinary single-mode fiber, the polarization planes of light waves fluctuate randomly during propagation, the polarization planes are maintained in a polarization-maintaining optical fiber.

[Note 4] Wavelength conversion device

A wavelength conversion device is an optical element that can convert the wavelength of input light by a factor of, say, 1/2 or 1/4, taking advantage of the nonlinearity of optical fiber.

[Note 5] YAG (Yttrium Aluminum Garnet) laser

A solid-state laser using Y₃Al₅O₁₂ crystal as its lasing medium. Currently this laser is extensively used in the electronics field and so on.

[Note 6] Beam quality and M²

M² is an index used to express the beam quality, representing the ratio with respect to the diffraction limit. For an ideal light beam, M² = 1.