The Difference Between CO2 Laser And Fiber Laser

The main differences between CO2 Lasers and are reflected in working materials, power, efficiency and applications. The working substance of the carbon dioxide laser is carbon dioxide and is a gas laser. Its wavelength is 10.6 microns, and the output laser can be continuous wave or pulse wave. The maximum laser power that can be achieved in continuous mode is 20KW. In addition, carbon dioxide lasers are widely used in industrial fields, such as cutting metal sheets, including aluminum, steel and stainless steel.

The working substance of the fiber laser is optical fiber, and the output laser wavelength is 1.06 microns. Compared with carbon dioxide lasers, the advantages of fiber lasers are that they have greater power and higher photoelectric conversion efficiency, so they are superior in quality and speed of use. In addition, fiber lasers are also used in a wide range of applications, including materials processing, medical treatment, communications and other fields.

CO2 Laser Overview
The carbon dioxide laser can be called the "invisible man" because the laser it emits has a wavelength of 10.6 microns. It is in the infrared region and cannot be detected by the naked eye. It works in two ways: continuous and pulse. The laser power generated in continuous mode can reach more than 20 kilowatts. The pulsed laser with a wavelength of 10.6 microns is also the most powerful laser.

The most common carbon dioxide laser is a discharge tube about 1 meter long. The laser it produces is invisible and burns the bricks until they glow a dazzling white light. Carbon dioxide laser was first used in 1964 with a wavelength of 10.6 μm.

Fiber laser refers to a laser that uses rare earth element-doped glass fiber as the gain medium. Fiber laser can be developed on the basis of fiber amplifier: under the action of pump light, it is easy to form high power density in the fiber, causing laser The laser energy level of the working material is "particle number inverted". When a positive feedback loop is appropriately added (to form a resonant cavity), a laser oscillation output can be formed.

Fiber lasers have a wide range of applications, including laser fiber communications, laser space long-distance communications, industrial shipbuilding, automobile manufacturing, laser engraving, laser marking, laser cutting, printing rollers, metal and non-metal drilling/cutting/welding (brazing, quenching Water, cladding and deep welding), military defense and security, medical equipment and equipment, large-scale infrastructure, as a pump source for other lasers, etc.

At present, fiber lasers are mostly used from a few hundred watts to several kilowatts, while carbon dioxide lasers are commonly used in the power range of 80W to 600W. The photoelectric conversion efficiency of fiber lasers is higher than that of carbon dioxide lasers. In terms of cutting quality and speed, fiber lasers are better than carbon dioxide lasers. In terms of use and maintenance costs, fiber lasers are lower than carbon dioxide lasers. In terms of one-time investment, fiber lasers require less Higher than carbon dioxide lasers; in addition, both fiber lasers and carbon dioxide lasers require chillers to cool them down.

CO2 Laser Applications
Carbon dioxide laser is an early development and mature laser technology. It uses carbon dioxide gas as a working substance and can produce infrared laser with a wavelength of 10.6 microns. It is characterized by high continuous output power. As early as the late 1970s, it was widely used in various fields such as material processing, medical use, military weapons, and environmental measurement.

In the field of industrial manufacturing, carbon dioxide lasers are mainly used for cutting and engraving non-metallic materials, including plastics, rubber, wood, leather, etc. In addition, it is also commonly used in processes such as marking and welding, especially in the automotive, shipbuilding, aerospace and other industries.

Fiber laser is a laser that uses glass fiber doped with rare earth elements as the gain medium. It is widely used in laser fiber communication, laser space long-distance communication, industrial shipbuilding, automobile manufacturing and other fields. Specifically, it can be used for cutting, processing and handling of metal and non-metal materials, such as laser engraving, laser marking, laser cutting, printing rollers, etc. In addition, fiber lasers are also widely used in fields such as medical health and environmental monitoring, such as medical equipment and equipment.

It is worth noting that according to the different time domain characteristics of laser output, fiber lasers can be divided into pulsed fiber lasers and continuous fiber lasers. These two types of fiber lasers also have different typical applications in the industrial field. In addition, with the emergence of high-power dual-layer fiber lasers, their application fields are rapidly expanding, including laser processing, laser ranging, laser radar, laser art imaging, laser anti-counterfeiting and biomedicine.