nLIGHT Launches Pearl™ an Innovation in High-Power Fiber-Coupled Architecture

Vancouver, WA  June 15, 2007

High-power fiber-coupled product family to be featured at Laser 2007.
World of Photonics in Munich, Germany, area B3, booth #358, from June 18-21, 2007

nLIGHT is redefining the high-power fiber-coupled module market with the formal introduction of its new Pearl™ product platform. The architecture cleverly uses multiple high-power AuSn-bonded, facet-passivated, high-efficiency single emitters that are spatially combined into a single fiber core. Standard modules are now available up to 50 W at 808 nm and 5 W at 639 nm with detachable antireflective-coated 0.22 numerical aperture 400 µm core fibers. Samples at 88x and 9xx nm are also offered. The product is designed for a wide array of application spaces that range from pumping multiple gain media (including diode-pumped solid state lasers, disk lasers, fiber lasers) to direct diode-material interactions (including annealing, welding, cutting, surgical application) to laser-based displays.

Pearl™ is highly differentiated from pre-existing products, most notably in overall electrical-to-optical efficiency, which is typically in excess of 50%. Equally differentiating is the extreme reliability from the use of single emitters. Another key feature is low current operation enabled by configuring the single emitters in series. The 50 W 808 nm modules typically operate at 6 A of current with a compliance voltage of 20 V. The 5 W 639 nm modules typically operate at 1.3 A of current with a compliance voltage of 21 V. Standard wavelength tolerances are +/- 3 nm (808 nm) and +/- 4 nm (639 nm) with spectral widths less than 3 nm.

This product also draws on nLIGHT’s proprietary nXLT™ diode protection technology for its facet passivation to ensure maximum lifetime and high-brightness operation. Coupled with its compact size and plug-and-play electrical connections, Pearl™ provides the perfect solution for applications that require efficient and reliable fiber-coupled delivery of high-brightness optical power.