TeraDiode has announced shipment of its first four kilowatt high brightness TeraBlade laser doubling the power density of the direct-diode platform. This shipment ushers in the third generation of industrial lasers, disrupting the status quo for cost and efficiency and opening applications that were cost-prohibitive for previous generations, according to the company.
This TeraBlade 4kW laser, with a 100µm output fiber, has a beam-parameter-product (BPP) of 4mm-mrad, with superior beam quality being developed. This value of BPP is needed for high throughput cutting of steel over the range of thicknesses cut by laser cutters in job shops around the world. TeraDiode has already demonstrated cutting of ½" (12.7mm) mild steel with cut quality and speed comparable to disk and fiber lasers.
Dr. Parviz Tayebati, CEO of TeraDiode, stated: "In the short time since our first industrial shipments, we doubled the power of our laser modules from 600W to 1.2kW.< These modules, which we use in our multi-kilowatt systems, reduce our production cost to just below that of the incumbents who have needed years of shipping in high volume to reach these levels. From here, increasing our production will accelerate further improvements to widen the gap in efficiency, reliability and cost of ownership over the incumbents."
The TeraBlade platform benefits from a combination of economy of scale of semiconductor diode laser array chips and Wavelength Beam Combination (WBC), an MIT patented technology that enables the combination of energy from thousands of individual emitters into a single laser beam while preserving the beam quality needed for cutting and welding applications. WBC is unique for its inherent capability to preserve the wall-plug efficiency of direct diode lasers while delivering the high brightness previously achieved only by lasers requiring more complicated gain/feedback architectures. The TeraBlade lasers shipped with wall-plug efficiencies of 40 percent, far surpassing first generation CO2 and lamp pumped rod lasers that are approximately just 10 percent efficient as well as second generation diode pumped disk and fiber lasers that are roughly just three times more efficient than their predecessors.
The beam quality of this TeraBlade 4kW laser is based on new 1.2kW TeraBlade modules that are twice as powerful as earlier versions, with superior beam quality. These higher brightness modules enable the TeraBlade platform to scale up to 10kW and serve a wide range of applications in the cutting and welding markets; such higher brightness direct diode lasers will be introduced in the coming quarters. The TeraBlade-4000 has a center wavelength of 970nm and a 100-micron delivery fiber; versions are available with beam parameter products of under 4mm-mrad for cutting and under 6mm-mrad for remote welding. Its modular architecture makes the TeraBlade platform field serviceable and scalable to higher powers.
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