Application of Optical Fibers in Laser Flexibility Processing Uses

Laser processing mainly uses high-energy laser to cut, weld, punch, mark, form, surface treat, and modify doping. Commonly used light sources in the industry are CO2 gas laser (wavelength 10.6 um) and YAG solid laser (wavelength 1.064 um). Laser processing is widely used in the automotive, electronics, electrical appliances, aviation, metallurgy, machinery manufacturing, military and other industries, and plays an important role in economic development. During laser processing, laser beam irradiation interacts with the material on the workpiece to complete the machining process. Therefore, it is non-contact, non-abrasive, non-noisy (or little noise), and free from swarf. It basically does not cause pollution to the environment. Therefore, laser processing technology is a kind of green processing technology, which will inevitably be called an advanced processing technology in the 21st century.

Optical transmission factors:

The factors affecting the energy transfer of the fiber include the incident beam parameters, fiber end face and coupling coupling, fiber length, fiber core diameter, and radial refractive index profile of the fiber. The large-diameter fiber is often used for the transmission of multimode high power Nd:YAG laser beams, and the spatial intensity distribution of the beam at the output depends on the implantation conditions, the misalignment of the incident spot with the fiber, and the bending of the fiber. The lateral offset severely affects the distribution of meridional fibers and slanted rays within the fiber. The angular offset does not change the ratio of meridional rays to oblique rays, but changes the propagation directions of meridional rays and slanted rays in the fiber. Lateral excursion stimulates a large number of oblique rays, and the optical energy distribution of the laser output is more uniform, and the “homogenization” effect of the angle shift is weak.

When the optical fiber is bent, when the total reflection condition of the light in the core cannot be satisfied, the light enters the cladding and forms an evanescent wave. The light guiding performance of the optical fiber is reduced, resulting in attenuation of light energy. In the case of laser technology and optical fiber manufacturing technology has achieved tremendous development, the use of optical fiber transmission laser beam in laser flexible processing is the best choice. The 1.06um Nd:YAG laser beam, and semiconductor lasers in the visible and near-infrared wavelengths are well suited for current commercial fiber optic transmission. The design of a reasonable fiber-optic energy transmission system must take into account the characteristics of the laser source, the laser injection conditions, the length of the fiber, the core diameter, and bending and other factors.