Fiber laser is latest and radical technology came in use for industrial
marking application during last decade. In last few years it has emerged as fastest growing and the most promising technology of
laser universe. Fiber
laser is fiber optic cable, which acts as both
laser source (gain medium) and delivery system for
laser beam. Fiber optic cable has core doped with material called Ytterbium, which is pumped by series of diodes to emit laser with wavelength between 1050 nm and 1070 nm. Fiber
laser has very large surface area and hence offers better cooling and electrical efficiency. Since laser is generated and delivered through fiber optic cable, it helps in avoiding complex optical design like other lasers. As a result Fiber offers small, compact, robust, energy-efficient, air-cooled, solid-state laser that develops high peak-to-peak output laser energies and near perfect beam profiles for direct part marking on a wide variety of materials.
For end user fiber offers virtually no consumables, least operating cost and maintenance cost. Yet high initial investment due to proprietary technology owned by only a few companies in the world make it expensive for some first time users especially in developing countries.