II-VI launches high-power Laser Light cables for blue beams

19 Jun 2019

Electrification of transportation is accelerating and driving demand for laser processing of copper, a key component metal.

II-VI Inc., a developer of laser materials processing solutions, has introduced its new high power laser light cables designed for carrying high-power, blue laser beams.

The company says that the electrification of transportation is accelerating and driving the demand for laser processing of copper, a metal of choice in electric vehicles due to its high conductivity.

Copper’s absorption of high power blue laser energy is highly efficient and produces strong and spatter-free copper welds in electric vehicle parts such as battery terminals, power busbars, and electric motor windings. The new cables are rated for 1 kW signals, enabling high power blue laser beams to be delivered efficiently to laser processing heads mounted on robotic arms or gantry systems.

Dr. Robert Kuba, Managing Director, II-VI HighYAG, commented, “Our blue laser light cables leverage a proven multi-kilowatt technology platform that will enable us to quickly achieve our target rating of 2 kW. Our cables exceed the requirements of the state-of-the-art blue lasers that are commercially available.”

II-VI’s cable is designed for laser wavelengths ranging from 405 to 550 nm. It is available with the LLK-Q connector, standard for laser cutting heads, and the LLK-Auto connector, which meets the requirements of the automotive industry. II-VI also offers fiber-to-fiber couplers that facilitate combining laser light cables to achieve longer spans.

Laser World of Photonics

The company will be exhibiting its portfolio at Laser World of Photonics, 24th-27th June in Munich, Germany, which showcases one of the broadest portfolios of merchant products for all laser technology platforms employed in high power or precision materials processing.

II-VI adds that its range of laser optics, which span ultraviolet to far-infrared wavelengths, will be on display along with new products for fiber lasers and some of the most advanced laser heads and beam delivery solutions on the market.

In the life sciences area of LASER, II-VI’s display will consist of spectroscopy optics, flow cells, and precision temperature-controlled modules to support advances such as those in DNA sequencing. The company will also show products from epitaxial wafers to semiconductor lasers that will enable exciting new features such as 3D sensing in the next generation of consumer electronics.