Visotek and Bookham team to introduce “Ultra-High Brightness” 350W pump block at Photonics West 2008
New high power laser diode pump block delivers 350W from a 200µm, 0.2 NA fiber
Livonia, MI and Zurich, Switzerland – January 21, 2008 – Visotek, a manufacturer of fiber coupled high power diode laser systems, special optics, and laser production services, has selected Bookham, Inc. (NASDAQ: BKHM) as laser diode supplier for its “Ultra-High Brightness” single-emitter based pump block. The fiber coupled laser system delivers an industry leading 350W from a 200um fiber at 0.2NA and will be shown on the Bookham stand (#1207) at Photonics West 2008, January 22-24.
The fiber coupled laser system incorporates the latest generation of the Bookham high power single-emitter laser diodes capable of in excess of 10W operational light output power. The innovative optical design of the pump block was developed by the US based Fraunhofer Center for Laser Technology. The system eliminates beam shaping optics, enabling exceptional coupling efficiencies and compact dimensions at high power levels. 350W fiber coupled power can be achieved at moderate output powers from the laser chip, which offers improved system lifetime.
“The innovative design of this product and the strength of the Bookham single emitter technology enables us to deliver far greater power at improved efficiencies than any other product on the market,” said Andy Held, CEO from Visotek Inc. “We have made tremendous progress in optimizing our manufacturing process to offer our new “Ultra-High Brightness” pump block at high volumes with a low cost profile to the high power laser community.”
Berthold Schmidt, director of marketing for high power laser systems at Bookham, added, “We have a philosophy of working closely with our customers to develop technologies that meet their precise needs.
“Our low divergence, high reliability single-emitter components are of the highest quality and reliability, and combined with a cutting edge optomechanical design can offer systems manufacturers a significant increase in fiber coupled performance.”
Due to the low fiber core diameter of 200μm and the low NA of 0.2 or 0.46, respectively, the “Ultra-High Brightness” laser diode block can serve as pump unit for next generation fiber laser systems as well as for direct applications.
In addition to showcasing its technology at the exhibition, Bookham will be presenting three technical papers at associated symposium LASE 2008: ‘Recent developments for BAR and BASE: setting the trends‘, ‘Emission wavelength stabilization in broad area lasers coupled to fiber Bragg gratings’ and ‘Performance and reliability of pulsed 1060 nm laser modules’.
