Light amplification device and laser processing device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10038296-B2
Application number	US-201715413981-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 24, 2017
Priority date	Mar 15, 2016
Publication date	Jul 31, 2018
Grant date	Jul 31, 2018

Abstract

A light amplifier according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a seed light source configured to generate a pulsing seed light; an excitation light source configured to generate excitation light; a light amplifying fiber configured to amplify the seed light by the excitation light and output the amplified light; and a control unit configured to control the seed light source and the excitation light source. The control unit has a mode to control the excitation light's power such that as a set value of a pulse width of the amplified light increases, the amplified light's peak energy increases within a threshold value at a minimum set value of the pulse width.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A light amplification device comprising:
a seed light source configured to generate a pulsing seed light;
an excitation light source configured to generate excitation light;
a light amplifying fiber configured to amplify the seed light by the excitation light and output the amplified light; and
a control unit configured to control the seed light source and the excitation light source,
the control unit having a mode to control the excitation light's power such that during a period when the seed light source repeatedly generates the seed light, as a set value of a pulse width of the amplified light increases, the amplified light's peak energy increases within a threshold value at a minimum set value of the pulse width.

2. The light amplification device according to claim 1 , wherein:
when the mode is set, the control unit decreases an upper limit of a repetition frequency of the amplified light to be smaller than an upper limit of the repetition frequency in another mode different from the mode, and also sets the pulse width to be larger than the minimum set value; and
the control unit increases the power of the excitation light generated by the excitation light source to be larger than the power of the excitation light in the other mode.

3. The light amplification device according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit increases an average power of the amplified light in the mode to be higher than the average power in the other mode.

4. The light amplification device according to claim 2 , wherein a maximum value of the pulse width in the mode is larger than a maximum value of the pulse width in the other mode.

5. The light amplification device according to claim 4 , wherein when the control unit increases the pulse width, the control unit controls the seed light source to emit the seed light as a pulse train including a plurality of light pulses.

6. The light amplification device according to claim 5 , wherein the control unit performs a process to cause a user to select a pattern for setting each of the mode and the other mode from a plurality of set patterns for determining a number of the light pulses configuring the pulse train.

7. The light amplification device according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit performs a process to cause a user to select a pattern for setting each of the mode and the other mode from a plurality of set patterns for determining the repetition frequency.

8. The light amplification device according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit switches the mode to the other mode and vice versa by a reboot process.

9. The light amplification device according to claim 1 , wherein when the mode is set from another mode different from the mode, the control unit operates in response to an input received from a user for decreasing an upper limit of a repetition frequency of the amplified light to increase the pulse width to be larger than a pulse width in the other mode and also increase the excitation light's power to be larger than the excitation light's power in the other mode.

10. The light amplification device according to claim 1 , wherein when the mode is set from another mode different from the mode, the control unit operates in response to an input received from a user for increasing the pulse width to increase the excitation light's power to be larger than the excitation light's power in the other mode and also decrease an upper limit of a repetition frequency to be smaller than an upper limit of the repetition frequency in the other mode.

11. The light amplification device according to claim 1 , wherein when the mode is set from another mode different from the mode, the control unit operates in response to an input received from a user for increasing the excitation light's power to increase the pulse width to be larger than a pulse width in the other mode and also decrease an upper limit of a repetition frequency to be smaller than an upper limit of the repetition frequency in the other mode.

12. A laser processing device comprising:
a seed light source configured to generate a pulsing seed light;
an excitation light source configured to generate excitation light;
a light amplifying fiber configured to amplify the seed light by the excitation light and output the amplified light; and
a control unit configured to control the seed light source and the excitation light source,
the control unit having a mode to control the excitation light's power such that during a period when the seed light source repeatedly generates the seed light, as a set value of a pulse width of the amplified light increases, the amplified light's peak energy increases within a threshold value at a minimum set value of the pulse width.

Assignees

• Omron Tateisi Electronics Co

Inventors

• Fukui Hiroshi
• Yokoi Tadamasa
• Ogaki Tatsuo
• Tani Shuichi
• Sakamoto Tatsunori
• Ishizu Yuichi

Classifications

• H01S3/0007

  Applications not otherwise provided for (working metals or other materials by laser beam B23K26/00; using photons to produce a reactive propulsive thrust F03H3/00; optical recording of measured values in general G01D15/14; optics in general G02B; holographic processes or apparatus G03H; optical marking or sensing of data record carriers G06K7/10 - G06K7/14, G06K15/12; injection heating of plasma by laser H05H1/22; acceleration of neutral particles by electromagnetic wave pressure H05H3/04) · CPC title

• H01S3/1301

  in optical amplifiers · CPC title

• H01S3/09415

  the pumping beam being parallel to the lasing mode of the pumped medium, e.g. end-pumping · CPC title

• H01S3/067 Primary

  Fibre lasers · CPC title

• H01S3/06754 Primary

  Fibre amplifiers (H01S3/06708 takes precedence) · CPC title