Flexible beam delivery for improved laser applications

M. Bea; Christiane Glumann; B. Gruenewald; J. Rapp; Adolf Giesen; Helmut Huegel

doi:10.1117/12.184715

7 September 1994 Flexible beam delivery for improved laser applications

M. Bea, Christiane Glumann, B. Gruenewald, J. Rapp, Adolf Giesen, Helmut Huegel

Proceedings Volume 2207, Laser Materials Processing: Industrial and Microelectronics Applications; (1994) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.184715
Event: Europto High Power Lasers and Laser Applications V, 1994, Vienna, Austria

Abstract

The quality of laser material treatment processes depends to a large extent on an adequate power density profile at the workpiece. Stable and controlled beam propagation properties are necessary conditions for improved applications. To enhance the profitability of the processing techniques, it is useful to enlarge the range of possible combinations between lasers and multiple workstations. A multiplexing beam guiding system with equipped beam expanders is presented that permits the flexible use of various workstations and laser sources as well as time-sharing operations. The propagation properties of laser sources with different beam propagation factors have been measured, and, in particular, the influence of apertures is shown. To improve the flexibility, a system has been developed and installed that combines two flexible beam expanders using adaptive copper mirrors. It allows to control both the focus radius and the focal position, simultaneously and independently from each other. Numerically simulated data as well as experimental results are presented demonstrating the capability of this system. Using typical focusing optics, a focus shift can be realized up to 10 mm and the focus radius can be varied up to 100%. The combination of two individual 5 kW laser beams to be simultaneously applied on a specific workstation is presented. A special focusing device allows an independent variation of the focal conditions of each laser beam. By this procedure, the available laser power can be increased and a wide variety of space and time dependent intensity distributions is achievable. Their implications on process improvements will be discussed, briefly. The presented examples concerning welding and cladding demonstrate substantial yields in both efficiency and quality.

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M. Bea, Christiane Glumann, B. Gruenewald, J. Rapp, Adolf Giesen, and Helmut Huegel "Flexible beam delivery for improved laser applications", Proc. SPIE 2207, Laser Materials Processing: Industrial and Microelectronics Applications, (7 September 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.184715

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