System Integration Of Fiber Lasers And Its Effects On Laser Quality

By John McCauley, product specialist, Ophir-Spiricon

Recently, companies that perform system integrations have become more concerned about the quality of the laser delivered to the process and not just the quality of the laser source itself. Some companies are now starting to use beam profiling for much more than simply qualifying the laser source. They also leverage the technology to qualify the components that are integrated into their systems and to characterize the application of the laser. Using sample beam profiles as illustrations, this article defines laser quality and provides examples of how laser system quality can be affected by system componentry.