Challenge
The assessment aims to provide a two micron laser source with power and beam profile stability. The required achievement is to feed 200 Watts of stable power into a 125 µm fibre. This performance will be validated against the reproducibility of scribed grooves and other processes.
Benefit
TWOMICRO aims to develop laser sources at a wavelength which is rarely commercially available. The demand for such laser sources with a high potential market volume comes not only from cutting applications but arises from the suitability to process organic material. Therefore, offering lasers with output wavelengths in the 2 µm range promises a high sales potential helping the medical sector to develop new applications and to provide new services to humans.
With respect to cutting, the two micron sources enable smaller focus diameters compared to conventional CO2 lasers, which minimise groove widths as well as the cutting scrap. Exploitation with respect to minimised cutting scrap, sharper cutting edges and easy three dimensional processing of complicated polymer profiles will be enabled. The need for such laser sources directly implies a need for characterisation equipment, which is also covered by TWOMICRO.
