Abstract

In this work, a diode laser system is described that yields 323 watts through an 800 micrometer fiber with a numerical aperture of 0.2. The system is based on a single 15-bar stack that operates in cw-mode. For brightness enhancement, the system incorporates a device to fill the non-radiating space between the emitting apertures and includes polarization multiplexing. To achieve the required symmetry for fiber coupling, the system incorporates a beam transformer that assimilates the beam quality along the two main axes of the beam profile. A monolithic design is chosen to reduce alignment tolerances and to increase robustness. Using an F/# of 1.8 focusing optic, a 600 micro-meter circular spot is created yielding an intensity of 10⁵ W/cm².

© 2003 Optical Society of America