Abstract

The copper laser is a pulsed visible laser (511 and 578 nm laser lines), which emits intense (50-500 kW), short pulses (20-60 ns) at high pulse repetition frequencies (2-32 kHz). Average powers from commercial units range from 10-120 W whilst laboratory devices have reached over 750 W. Beam quality in the past has been rather poor but recent developments in resonator design and amplifier configurations has resulted in beam qualities near the diffraction limit. MOPA systems have been constructed with powers in excess of 2 kW. This set of laser parameters is unique and offers particular advantages for certain areas of materials processing.

© 1994 IEEE