In this study, 72 different combinations of laser welding parameters were compared for their effectiveness in welding ocular tissue. The laser employed in the welding system was a near infrared (NIR) erbium fiber laser with a wavelength of 1.455 μm . The laser system used a motorized translational stage and shutter to control the laser exposure of the tissue being welded. The emission wavelength of the laser in the NIR range corresponds to one of the lesser absorption bands of water. Parameters of the laser welding system that could be changed to allow a more effective distribution of the laser energy and therefore management of thermal energy included: the number and kinds of intricate offset patterns of light on or around the incision, the number of lines per pattern, the power level, the speed of the laser beam movement over the tissues, the spot size, dwell time and the focus plane of the light beam in the tissue. Histopathology was used as an endpoint indication of the effects that the various sets of welding parameters had on the welded tissues. Standard Hematoxylin and Eosin stain and Sirius Red F3B (Direct Red 80) in combination with polarization microscopy were used to stain and visualize the welded ocular tissue. Paradoxically, the best cornea welds quantified using histopathology occurred with fluence of 4,500 mJ/cm2 or less while the corneal welds exhibiting the strongest tensile strengths, but most tissue damage had a delivered fluence above 7,000 mJ/cm2. The best histological representatives of welded corneas had an average delivered fluence of 2,687 mJ/cm2 and an irradiance of 14 W/cm2. Using the properly determined parameters, the NIR erbium fiber welding system provided full thickness welds without the requirement of extrinsic dyes, chromophores, or solders. The NIR laser system with the appropriately developed parameters can be used effectively to weld ocular tissues.