The project compares the technology of welding of CO2 laser and fiber laser in terms of engineering study, the welds will be made by same welding conditions on two materials (S235JRG2 a X5CrNi 18-10), by using different protective gases (Helium and Argon). In the terms of literal background research both the technologies and questions of laser welding are described. The geometry of welds is carried out in the experimental part. The final results of the experiment are concluded at the end of the diploma thesis.

The project, prepared by the engineering study compares the welding abrasive steel HARDOX 400, fiber laser welding method, which will be compared with a MAG welding method and using different protective gases (argon and helium). In the theoretical part, i worked both welding technology's and the issue of high-strength steel. In the experimental part were performed and evaluated by destructive mechanical testing and bending test, the transverse tension test, test macrostructure and microstructure of welds. In conclusion the thesis deduced the final results of the experiment.

The project developed in the framework of engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology presents experiment welding of high strength steels Docol using a fiber laser. The work is a literature review describing the properties of welded materials, principles and different types of lasers and laser welding technology. In the experimental part, the validation set welding parameters. Finally, work is the evaluation of experiments.

No description available.

[pt] Neste trabalho, descreve-se a geração de pulsos ópticos curtos com diferentes taxas de repetição, para aplicações em sistemas de transmissão de sólitons. Para isto foi desenvolvido um laser a fibra em anel operando na terceira janela de comunicações ópticas (em 1.55 mm), capaz de gerar pulsos curtos, utilizando a técnica de mode-locking ativo. Na configuração empregada o modulador de Mach- Zehnder, normalmente usado, foi substituído por um laser DFB, funcionando como modulador de intensidade e, ao mesmo tempo, como filtro óptico sintonizável. O laser semicondutor tem seu ganho chaveado através de modulação direta, levando a cavidade e operar no regime de mode- locking harmônico. Uma sintonia contínua de comprimentos de onda pode ser obtida, simplesmente, variando-se a temperatura do diodo laser. Foram analisados aspectos como estabilidade, duração e pureza espectral dos pulsos ópticos emitidos por essa fonte, bem como sua faixa de sintonia de comprimentos de onda e possíveis taxas de repetição. Os pulsos ópticos gerados foram transmitidos através de enlaces ópticos com fibra óptica convencional, comprovando-se a propagação de sólitons. / [en] In this dissertation, it is depicted short optical pulses generation with different repetition rates, for soliton based transmission systems applications. In order to accomplish that, a fiber laser operating at the third window of the optical communication (1.55 um) was developed, capable of generate short pulses, through the active mode-locking technique. Within the current configuration, the Mach-Zehnder modulator, usually employed, was replaced by a DFB laser, running as both an intensity modulator and tunable optical filter. The semiconductor laser was gain switched through direct modulation, leading the cavity to operate on harmonic mode- locking scheme. A continuous wavelength tuning could be achieved by changing the temperature of the diode laser. Several aspects were analyzed, such as stability, duration and spectral purity of the optical pulses generated by this source. The wavelength tuning range and its possible repetition rates were also investigated. The optical pulses were transmitted through standard optical fiber links, demonstrating the propagation of solitons.

[pt] Neste trabalho descreve-se a geração de pulsos ópticos curtos estáveis, com durações na faixa de alguns psicossegundos, e diversas taxas de repetição. Para isto foi construído um laser a fibra dopada com érbio, na configuração em anel e operando nos regimes de mode- locking ativo harmônico e racional (MLEFL). As características temporal e espectral dos pulsos são estudadas. Os pulsos de saída apresentam potência de pico elevada e são limitados pela transformada, ou seja, na forma de sólitons. Esses pulsos são extremamente adequados para sistemas de comunicações solitônicos. Os lasers a fibra dopada com érbio operando no regime de mode-locking ativo (MLEFL), têm-se mostrado como um dos candidatos mais promissores para os sistemas solitônicos. Isto se deve ao fato desses dispositivos além de produzirem pulsos ultracurtos e com as características necessárias a esses sistemas, eles apresentam alta potência de saída e possibilitam a variação da taxa de repetição. Para a montagem desses lasers de forma razoavelmente compacta são utilizados componentes ópticos, tais como controladores de polarização, filtros e moduladores, em versões integradas (pigtailed) e já disponíveis comercialmente. / [en] This work describes a simple and stable harmonically mode- locked erbium-doped fiber ring laser, that produces high power, ~ 1 ps transform-limited sech optical pulses. Pulse trains with different high repetition rates were obtained using harmonic mode-locking and rational harmonic mode- locking techniques. The temporal and spectral characteristics of the pulses are studied. The pulses are extremely appropriate for soliton based systems communications. Actively mode-locked erbium doped fiber ring lasers (MLEFL), have attracted much attention and are one of most promising candidates for soliton systems. This is due to some characteristics which are very convenient for high capacity optical systems: they can produce very short transform limited optical pulses at gigahertz rates. Such lasers also present high output powers, long term stability and can be easily tuned to operate in a wide region of wavelengths.

High power thulium fiber lasers are useful for a number of applications in both continuous-wave and pulsed operating regimes. The use of thulium as a dopant has recently gained interest due to its large bandwidth, possibility of high efficiency, possibility of high power and long wavelength ~1.8 – 2.1 μm. The longer emission wavelength of Tm-doped fiber lasers compared to Yb- and/or Er-doped fiber lasers creates the possibility for higher peak power operation due to the larger nonlinear thresholds and reduced nonlinear phase accumulation. One primary interest in Tm-doped fiber lasers has been to scale to high average powers; however, the thermal and mechanical constraints of the fiber limit the average power out of a single-fiber aperture. One method to overcome the constraints of a single laser aperture is to spectrally combine the output from multiple lasers operating with different wavelengths into a single beam. In this thesis, results will be presented on the development of three polarized 100 W level laser systems that were wavelength stabilized for SBC. In addition to the development of the laser channels, the beams were combined using bandpass filters to achieve a single near diffraction-limited output. Concurrently, with the development of high average power systems there is an increasing interest in femotosecond pulse generation and amplification using Tm- doped fiber lasers. High peak power sources operating near 2 µm have the potential to be efficient pump sources to generate mid-infrared light through supercontinuum generation or optical parametric oscillators. This thesis focuses on the development of a laser system utilizing chirped pulse amplification (CPA) to achieve record level energies and peak powers for ultrashort pulses in Tm-doped fiber. iv A mode-locked oscillator was built to generate femtosecond pulses operating with pJ energy. Pulses generated in the mode-locked oscillator were limited to low energies and contained spectral modulation due to the mode-locking mechanism, therefore, a Raman-soliton self-frequency shift (Raman-SSFS) amplifier was built to amplify pulses, decrease the pulse duration, and spectrally clean pulses. These pulses were amplified using chirped pulse amplification (CPA) in which, limiting factors for amplification were examined and a high peak power system was built. The primary limiting factors of CPA in fibers include the nonlinear phase accumulation, primarily through self-phase modulation (SPM), and gain narrowing. Gain narrowing was examined by temporally stretching pulses in a highly nonlinear fiber that both stretched the pulse duration and broadened the spectrum. A high peak power CPA system amplified pulses to 1 µJ energy with 300 fs compressed pulses, corresponding to a peak power >3 MW. High peak power pulses were coupled into highly nonlinear fibers to generate supercontinuum

The thulium fiber laser has gained interest due to its long emission wavelength, large bandwidth (~1.8 – 2.1 µm), high efficiencies (~60 %), and high output power levels both in cw as well as pulsed regimes. Applications like remote sensing, machining, medical tissue ablation, and mid-infrared generation benefit from high peak power thulium laser sources. Pulsed thulium fiber laser systems are advancing rapidly towards higher peak power levels and are becoming the preferred sources for these applications. This dissertation work describes the development of novel nanosecond pulsed thulium fiber laser systems with record high peak power levels targeting mid-infrared generation. The peak power scaling in thulium fiber lasers requires new fiber designs with larger mode field area (MFA) than commercially available step index large mode area (SI-LMA) fibers. Two different prototypes of thulium doped photonic crystal fibers (PCF) were investigated for high peak power generation. The first prototype is a flexible-PCF with MFA twice as large as SILMA fiber and the second prototype is a PCF-rod with six times larger MFA. A robust single stage master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) source based on flexible-PCF was developed. This source provided narrow linewidth, tunable wavelength, variable pulse duration, high peak power, and high energy nanosecond pulses. The PCF-rod was implemented as a second stage power amplifier. This system generated a record level of ~1 MW peak power output with 6.4 ns pulse-duration at 1 kHz repetition rate. This thulium doped PCF based MOPA system is a state of the art laser source providing high quality nanosecond pulses. iv The single stage MOPA system was successfully implemented to pump a zinc germanium phosphide (ZGP) crystal in an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) cavity to generate 3 - 5 µm wavelengths. The MOPA source was also used to demonstrate backside machining in silicon wafer. The PCF based laser system demonstrated an order of magnitude increase in the peak power achievable in nanosecond thulium doped fiber laser systems, and further scaling appears possible. The increase in peak power will enable additional capabilities for mid-infrared generation and associated applications.

Over a wide range of applications, optical systems have utilized conventional optics in order to provide the ability to engineer the properties of incident infra-red fields in terms of the transmitted field spectral, spatial, amplitude, phase, and polarization characteristics. These micro/nano-optical elements that provide specific optical functionality can be categorized into subcategories of refractive, diffractive, multi-layer thin film dichroics, 3-D photonic crystals, and polarization gratings. The feasibility of fabrication, functionality, and level of integration which these elements can be used in an optical system differentiate which elements are more compatible with certain systems than others. With enabling technologies emerging allowing for a wider range of options when it comes to lithographic nano/micro-patterning, dielectric growth, and transfer etching capabilities, optical elements that combine functionalities of conventional optical elements can be realized. Within this one class of optical elements, it is possible to design and fabricate components capable of tailoring the spectral, spatial, amplitude, phase, and polarization characteristics of desired fields at different locations within an optical system. Optical transmission filters, polarization converting elements, and spectrally selective reflecting components have been investigated over the course of this dissertation and have been coined  MOSSE,' which is an acronym for micro-optic-spectral-spatial-elements. Each component is developed and fabricated on a wafer scale where the thin film deposition, lithographic exposure, and transfer etching stages are decoupled from each other and performed in a sequential format. This facilitates the ability to spatially vary the optical characteristics of the different MOSSE structures across the surface of the wafer itself.

Ultrafast lasers are valuable research and manufacturing tools. The ultrashort pulse duration is comparable to electron-lattice relaxation times, yielding unique interactions with matter, particularly nonlinear absorption, melting, and ablation. The field of ultrafast laser manufacturing is rapidly evolving with advances in related laser technologies. The applications of ultrashort pulse lasers in additive manufacturing aim to fill gaps left by conventional techniques especially on the nano- and micro-scale. Concurrently, uptake of ultrafast fiber lasers for micromachining has increased, and may replace the Ti:Sapphire laser as the ultrafast laser of choice. Both additive and subtractive manufacturing are accomplished with ultrafast lasers which presents the possibility of hybrid, all-in-one devices using a single laser source. As one such combination of laser techniques, ultrashort pulse surface modification of additively manufactured metals is an area of limited investigation. This thesis aims to address the ever-changing landscape of ultrafast laser manufacturing by 1) reviewing ultrafast laser additive manufacturing techniques and recent advancements 2) comparing the design, operation, and micromachining potential of a commercial ultrafast Ti:Sapphire and ultrafast fiber laser, and 3) investigating femtosecond ablation of as-printed additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V at a range of parameters to test the feasibility of surface feature control. Ultrafast laser additive manufacturing is still in its infancy with mostly niche applications. The ultrafast fiber laser architecture is found to deliver a platform that is easier to operate and maintain and has superior micromachining throughput relative to Ti:Sapphire lasers. In our experimental work, five main surface morphologies are obtained by femtosecond ablation of a rough Ti-6Al-4V surface: laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS), undulating grooves, micro-ripples, grooves, and micro-cavities. Transitions between ablation regimes and evolutions of the surface under increasing pulse energy and number of pulses are observed. These patterns allow for control over the surface geometry without the need for post-printing polishing. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc) / Ultrafast pulsed lasers of <10 picoseconds pulse duration are commonly used to modify, melt, or ablate materials. As an important research and manufacturing tool, ultrafast lasers and techniques have seen great change in the past two decades. Additive manufacturing has emerged as an area in which ultrafast lasers are becoming increasingly prevalent. To make sense of this continuously evolving landscape, this thesis 1) reviews ultrafast laser additive manufacturing techniques, applications, and advances towards industrial use and commercialisation, 2) compares the setup, operability, and characteristics for two ultrafast laser designs, and 3) investigates the surfaces produced by ultrafast laser irradiation of an additively manufactured titanium alloy part. The surface morphologies that are produced are categorised into five main patterns: laser-induced periodic surface structures, undulating grooves, micro-ripples, grooves, and micro-cavities. Each is a distinct pattern that may allow for tuning of the surface properties with respect to the wettability and biocompatibility.