Fiber Laser Inspection
Fiber Laser Production Quality Inspection Application
[Fiber Laser Components and Workflow]
Step 1: Power is supplied to the LD chip (laser diode) to stimulate it to emit laser light.
Step 2: The laser power emitted by a single LD chip is limited. Pumps are packaged together to increase the output power.
Step 3: A beam combiner combines the N pumps into a single laser, further increasing the power.
The role of the optical fiber: It guides the laser light from the LD chip and pumps into a specific direction, where it is then combined by the beam combiner to output high-power laser light. There are many welds between the optical fibers.
[Applications of Thermal Imaging]
1. Monitoring the Quality of Fiber Splices
During the manufacturing process of high-power fiber lasers, optical discontinuities and defects of certain sizes may exist at the fiber splice. Severe defects can cause abnormal heating at the splice, potentially damaging the laser or creating hot spots. Therefore, temperature monitoring of fiber splices is a critical step in the fiber laser manufacturing process. Using an infrared thermal imager, the temperature of the fiber splice can be monitored to determine the quality of the splice and improve product quality.
2. Pump Testing
The laser power output by a single LD chip is limited. Pumping involves packaging multiple LD chips together to increase output power. Pumping generates significant heat, and this temperature directly affects the laser wavelength output by the chip. We use an infrared thermal imager to inspect the quality of each incoming pump. Unqualified pumps are rejected to ensure laser quality.
3. Combiner Inspection:
After combining and amalgamating, the input and output fibers are heated evenly to determine if there are any defects. It can also determine if the combiner temperature is abnormal.
4. Other Scenarios: Laser Welding and Laser Cladding Process Monitoring
- Laser welding: High-temperature laser heats the workpiece, melting it and then joining it.
- Laser cladding: Auxiliary material is added to the workpiece, melting it and then joining it. Thermal imaging can be used to monitor shape changes during the process and improve the process.
