KW-class industrial diode lasers comprised of single emitters

Direct semiconductor diode laser-based systems have emerged as the preferred tool to address a wide range of material processing, solid-state and fiber laser pumping, and various military applications. We present an architectural framework and prototype results for kW-class laser tools based on single emitters that addresses a range of output powers (500W to multiple kW) and beam parameter products (20 to 100 mm-mrad) in a system with an operating efficiency near 50%. nLIGHT uses a variety of building blocks for these systems: a 100W, 105um, 0.14 NA pump module at 9xx nm; a 600W, 30 mm-mrad single wavelength, single polarization building block source; and a 140 W 20 mm-mrad low-cost module. The building block is selected to realize the brightness and cost targets necessary for the application. We also show how efficiency and reliability can be engineered to minimize operating and service costs while maximizing system up-time. Additionally we show the flexibility of this system by demonstrating systems at 8xx, 9xx, and 15xx nm. Finally, we investigate the diode reliability, FIT rate requirements, and package impact on system reliability.