High-power diode laser technology and applications

High Power Diode Lasers with a power from a few ten watts up to several kilowatts are entering the laser materials processing area since a few years now. Because of their construction, based on a high quantity of single semiconductor laser components, which provide a rather low power and which are coupled together by special optical elements, they can provide a high power, but a rather poor beam quality, compared with conventional lasers. Therefore, they are attractive for those applications, where moderate beam quality is acceptable or even advantageous for the process. In this paper we will explain the technology of the high power diode lasers as well as give examples for materials processing applications, which are partially even already introduced in industrial manufacturing.