The first optical shutter for 10,000-watt fiber lasers in China was successfully developed
On July 10th, the sub-project of the National Key R & D Plan Project “Key Technologies and Industrialization of Industrial Grade High-Power Fiber Lasers” (Project Number: 2017YFB1104400) undertaken by Nanjing University of Science and Technology Zhu Rihong and Shen Hua in 2017 “Development of optical shutters for fiber lasers” The prototype of the 10,000-watt optical shutter developed by Wuhan Ruike Fiber Laser Technology Co., Ltd. passed the performance test of the prototype.
High-power fiber laser shutter is an important device for laser manufacturing and laser additive manufacturing equipment. It uses time-sharing or energy-sharing to change one light output from the fiber laser into multiple light outputs, thereby satisfying the manufacturing equipment’s ability to recover The requirements for use, that is, one machine for multiple uses, have greatly improved the performance of fiber lasers.
At present, the international units that develop high-power fiber laser shutters are mainly foreign companies. The domestic research on high-power fiber laser shutters is basically blank, and mainly depends on imports.
In order to realize the localization of key components of industrial-grade high-power fiber lasers, Nanjing University of Science and Technology undertook the task of the national key research and development plan of 2017, “Development of Optical Shutters for 30,000-Watt Fiber Lasers”, to study high-power fiber-optic shutter technology. Conquered high-power laser multi-channel time-sharing / energy-sharing technology, space-fiber efficient coupling technology, optical element high damage threshold film technology, precision measurement technology based on fiber surface cladding scattered light, heat treatment technology for residual laser, and precision adjustment technology, etc. , The developed fiber laser shutter prototype is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 Physical picture of the optical shutter prototype developed by NIT
On July 10th, a 10,000-watt optical shutter prototype developed by Nanjing University of Science and Technology was tested for performance at Wuhan Ruike Fiber Laser Technology Co., Ltd. to test its load power, transmission efficiency, and temperature rise of the optical components inside the prototype. Shown in Figure 2. Figure 3 (a) is the input power and output power curve of the prototype, Figure 3 (b) is the transmission efficiency curve of the prototype, and Figure 3 (c) is the temperature rise curve of the mirror surface of the prototype optical element. Figure 4 (a) is the maximum input power test value of the prototype, Figure 4 (b) is the maximum output power test value of the prototype, and Figure 4 (c) is the mirror temperature test value of the optical component of the prototype at the maximum input power. Through this test, the maximum load power of the 10,000-watt optical shutter prototype developed by Nanjing University of Science and Technology was 11.27 kW, the maximum output power was 10.91 kW, the transmission efficiency was> 96%, and the temperature rise of the optical components was <5 ° C, which successfully completed the country. Task index requirements for key R & D plan projects.
Figure 2 Prototype test site
Figure 3 Prototype test curve: (a) Input power and output power; (b) Transmission efficiency; (c) Mirror temperature rise
Figure 4 Test data of the optical shutter prototype: (a) maximum input power; (b) maximum output power; (c) mirror temperature
The successful development of the 10,000-watt optical shutter of Nanjing University of Science and Technology has promoted the localization of key components of industrial-grade high-power fiber lasers, filled a gap in this field in China, and is of great significance for the continued development of domestic fiber lasers.