Bookham™ Unveils World's Most Powerful Laser Diode Bar At Photonics West
Leading optical components manufacturer expands industrial laser portfolio
San Jose, CA -- Bookham, Inc., a leading provider of optical components, modules and subsystems, is expanding its portfolio of high power laser diodes for the industrial market at Photonics West, where it will launch the world's most powerful commercially available continuous wave (CW) laser diode bar.
The 9xxnm 120W CW multimode laser diode bar, developed at the Bookham facility in Zurich, Switzerland, offers a significant increase in power for pumping of solid-state disk and fiber lasers, as well as direct applications of the laser diode output.
"The commercial release of the 120W bar product is a significant achievement, and one that we are very proud of," said Greg Smolka, VP Sales and Marketing, Commercial Products. "We are confident that the high brightness and reliability of our industrial laser diode bars will continue to attract new customers and accelerate the growth of diode-pumped laser systems."
The 9xxnm 120W laser diode bar is one of several new products that Bookham has added to its industrial laser portfolio since it entered the high power laser diode market in 2004. The updated product range includes 30% fill factor bars, passively-cooled copper mounts, horizontal linear bar arrays, high power multimode single emitters, as well as multimode cable television (CaTV) pumps, 1070nm seed laser sources, and narrow-band grating stabilized pumps optimized for second harmonic generation (SHG).
"With these new products, Bookham continues to expand its position in the industrial laser market," said Greg Smolka. "The 120W bars address the increased power demands by industrial laser manufacturers, the horizontal linear bar arrays enable us to provide our customers' with a more complete solution and we believe we are the only company offering an ultra narrow band grating pump tailored for SHG lasers"
Applications for the high power laser diodes include beside pumps for CaTV amplifiers and visible SHG lasers, the pumping of solid-state lasers such as Nd:YAG lasers, fiber lasers and disc lasers, as well as direct applications of the laser diode output. These powerful devices have applications in material processing, marking and printing, medical applications such as skin resurfacing and hair removal and military/aerospace applications ranging from laser warning and targeting to inter-satellite communications.
One of the core technologies that has driven the power and reliability achievements is Bookham's proprietary E2 process, which passivates the laser's front mirror. The aim of this passivation is to prevent Catastrophic Optical Mirror Damage (COMD), which is otherwise a common problem in the development of high brightness GaAs laser diodes. The E2 solution to the COMD issue enabled Zurich laser diodes to be used in the first commercial telecommunications link using 980nm pumps, and later in submarine optical telecommunications links, where reliability requirements are ultra-demanding.
Also of key importance is Bookham's experience in mounting laser diodes using gold-tin soldering. This "hard-soldering" technique allows laser diodes to be driven at higher powers and temperatures with much better reliability than "soft" solders, especially in 1-Hz type on-off applications. The gold-tin soldering is used in all of the Bookham mounted laser diode products.
About Bookham, Inc.
Bookham, Inc is a global leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of optical components, modules and subsystems. The company's optical components, modules and subsystems are used in various applications and industries, including telecommunications, data communications, aerospace, industrial and military. Since 2002, the company has acquired the optical components businesses from Nortel Networks and Marconi, as well as Ignis Optics, Inc., the business of Cierra Photonics Inc., New Focus, Inc., and Onetta, Inc. The company has manufacturing facilities in the UK, US, Canada, China and Switzerland; and offices in the US, UK, France, Italy, and China; and employs approximately 2000 people worldwide.
Source: Bookham, Inc.