Japanese experts have managed to increase the power of a semiconductor laser by an order of magnitude. He is now able to cut metal.
what is known
Researchers in the Land of the Rising Sun have developed technology to magnify a surface-emitting photonic crystal laser (PCSRL). The power has been increased from 5W to 50W, which is enough for cutting metal.
Modern photonic crystal lasers PCSEL have a small emitting area. It is up to 1 mm in size. The structure consists of a semiconductor plate with measuring holes.
Japanese engineers have spent several years trying to ensure that the light from a large area is not blurred. In addition, they managed to solve the problem of thermoregulation. For this purpose, regular oval holes were integrated into the semiconductor plate.
Researchers eventually created a PCSEL laser that was 3mm in size. Scientists believe that in the future they can develop identical lasers up to 10 mm in size and increase the power to 1 MW. But even the current 50W is enough to use lasers for metalworking, which will reduce the cost of laser machines.
Source: spectrum