January 10, 2008
The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (hereinafter called Furukawa Electric) has developed a fiber laser (Note 1) as a fundamental wave light source for green lasers that has achieved all the necessary functions such as “stabilized output wavelength and linewidth”, “single-mode output(Note 2) of 6 W at the maximum”, and “single polarization-maintaining optical output (Note 3)”, in addition to “world-class minimized size” and “low price”. The product will be released in January, 2008.
The wavelength of the product is 1064 nm, the same as Nd:YAG laser (Note 4), enabling green lasers to be constituted in combination with a wavelength conversion device (Note 5).
The sales for the first year is targeted at approximately 300 million yen in the field of biomedical analysis and assay, which is to be expanded to the consumer electronics field such as laser displays.
The fiber laser and its related products will be displayed at the LASER & OPTICS 2008 organized within the 37th INTERNEPCON JAPAN to be held at Tokyo Big Sight from January 16 to 18, 2008.
Developmental Background
Fiber laser is recently drawing attention for its high energy conversion efficiency and good beam quality, when compared to solid state lasers represented by Nd:YAG laser.
In April 2007, Furukawa Electric launched manufacturing and sales of a fiber laser of high reliability and performance, taking advantage of fiber optic technologies that the company accumulated over the years as the largest manufacturer of optical amplifiers in Japan which include optical fibers for amplifiers, optical semiconductor lasers, optical passive components, optical control and optical fiber fusion splicing technologies.
Since that time, Furukawa Electric has been focusing attention on the marketability of compact, low-priced fiber lasers specialized for use in green lasers, which led to the development of the present product. Several patents related with this product have already been applied for.
Furukawa Electric has, together with its affiliate company OFS in the U.S. and Denmark, developed a full range of elemental component technologies used in fiber lasers, so that the company can quickly respond to customers’ requirements.
Features of Product
- Superior Beam Quality
The product uses a single mode fiber having a core diameter of less than 10 µm to launch the output laser beam, realizing a high energy density and good beam quality (Note 6) (M2 < 1.1). - Highly-stabilized Optical Output, Wavelength and Linewidth
By means of the temperature-compensated package resulting from the combination of optical passive components and optical control technologies that we have cultivated in the field of fiber optic communications, the product has realized highly-stabilized optical output, wavelength and linewidth that is required for fundamental light sources for wavelength conversion (i.e., output linewidth of 0.05 nm or less, and wavelength stability of 0.05 nm or less). - Single-mode, Single-polarization Optical Output of up to 6 W
- World-class Minimized Size and Low Price
The product has adopted, regardless of its complete provision of necessary functions, a simple configuration and a low-cost design suitable for mass production focusing on exclusive applications to fundamental wave laser light sources used in wavelength conversion. Thus, the product has realized both a minimized size (100 x 100 x 16mm) of world-class and a price lower than 400 thousand yen.
Typical Specifications
| Item | Characteristics |
|---|---|
| Maximum optical output | 6 W |
| Polarization | Single polarization |
| Output linewidth | 0.05 nm or less |
| Output wavelength | 1064 nm |
| Wavelength stability | 0.05 nm or less |
| Beam quality | M2 < 1.1 |
| Package size | 100 x 100 x 16mm |
Glossary
(Note 1) Fiber laser
Fiber laser is a generic term 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 take place. They come in a variety of types including, besides fiber lasers, gas lasers that use a gas as the lasing medium (e.g. carbon dioxide gas laser), solid state lasers (e.g. YAG laser), semiconductor lasers and liquid lasers.Back to Main Content
(Note 2) Single-mode output
Single mode in this case refers to single transverse mode. When the core diameter of an optical fiber is considerably reduced, only the fundamental mode of the lowest order (i.e., 0th order) is supported to propagate. Unlike multi-mode propagation where multiple modes of light exist, single-mode propagation does not exhibit wavefront distortion due to arrival time dispersion of optical signals because only the fundamental mode exists.Back to Main Content
(Note 3) Polarization-maintaining output
While the polarization planes of light waves fluctuate randomly during propagation in an ordinary single-mode fiber, polarization fluctuations are suppressed in this product so that the polarization plane of the output is maintained. Back to Main Content
(Note 4) Nd:YAG laser
A solid-state laser that uses yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) Y3Al5O12 crystal as its lasing medium with a minute quantity of neodymium added. The laser is in wide use in the electronics and process machinery fields.Back to Main Content
(Note 5) Wavelength conversion device
An optical device that can convert the wavelength of an input light by a factor of, say 1/2, 1/3 or 1/4, taking advantage of the nonlinearity of an optical crystal. In terms of applications of this product, the output wavelength of 1064 nm is converted by a factor of 1/2 to generate a green light of 532 nm. Back to Main Content
(Note 6) M2
M2 is an index to express beam quality, representing a ratio with respect to the diffraction limit. For an ideal light beam, M2 = 1.Back to Main Content