OSRAM Opto Semiconductors Premiers New Laser Diode Arrays
San Jose, CA — OSRAM Opto Semiconductors premiered its SIRILAS® laser diode arrays at Photonics West 2007, in modular pumping modules produced by RayTools, maker of lasers and solutions for industrial applications. The RayTools-SIRILAS Linear Array is a simple, easy-to-use housing for the SIRILAS diode laser bar. Each laser diode array consists of a bar with 16 individual emitters and achieves an output of 30 Watts (W). Pumping modules with up to 10 laser diode arrays have outputs of up to 300 W.
"By integrating these laser diode arrays into pumping modules, the SIRILAS Linear Array is saving time for potential customers by eliminating a major step in the development process," Ellen Sizemore, director, LED/IR marketing, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors Inc., said. "The result is a ready-to-use module with optimized cooling that can be easily incorporated in the standardized mechanical, thermal and electrical interfaces of a pumping application," she added.
SIRILAS is a compact package with an innovative heat sink that saves space and is cost-efficient. Integrated cooling fins, on which the laser bar is centered, provide effective water-cooling while reducing the thermal resistance. The simple design of the cooling channels minimizes the possibility of corrosion. An enclosed package protects against dust and contact, while an integrated lens produces an almost parallel beam with vertical divergence of one degree, typically.
By combining multiple pumping modules, it is possible to pump high power solid-state lasers. These solid-state lasers are used as alternatives to CO2 lasers for material processing such as welding plastic and metal. The output of a laser system can be further increased by connecting solid-state lasers in series.
The SIRILAS linear arrays are best suited for applications which require a high-power line emission output, such as transversal pumping of rod lasers as well as direct applications such as plastic welding or surface treatment.
Solid-state lasers that are excited by diode laser pumping lines are much smaller than CO2 lasers and operate more efficiently. SIRILAS semiconductor lasers, with an efficiency of more than 50 percent, are ideal pumping sources because their output can be precisely tuned to the absorption lines of the solid-state laser materials. This reduces the thermal load on the solid-state laser medium, and efficiency and beam quality are improved. What's more, maintenance is easier because the laser diode arrays can be replaced individually if necessary.
For further information and product datasheets, visit OSRAM's Web site at www.osram-os.com.
SOURCE: OSRAM Opto Semiconductors