Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253

The advances and characteristics of high-power

diode laser materials processing
Lin Li*
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Laser Processing Research Centre, University of Manchester Institute
of Science and Technology (UMIST), Sackville Street, Manchester M60 1QD, UK

Abstract

This paper presents a review of the direct applications of high-power diode lasers for
materials processing including soldering, surface modi"cation (hardening, cladding, glazing and
wetting modi"cations), welding, scribing, sheet metal bending, marking, engraving, paint
stripping, powder sintering, synthesis, brazing and machining. The speci"c advantages and
disadvantages of diode laser materials processing are compared with CO , Nd:YAG and
2
excimer lasers. An e!ort is made to identify the fundamental di!erences in their beam/material
interaction characteristics and materials behaviour. Also an appraisal of the future prospects of
the high-power diode lasers for materials processing is given. ( 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All
rights reserved.

Keywords: HPDL; High-power diode laser; Materials; Processing; Welding; Hardening; Marking; Rapid
prototyping; Machining; Soldering

1. Introduction

It has been almost a decade since the "rst direct diode laser application for
materials processing was reported in 1991 for soldering using a 15 W medical diode
laser [1]. In the last 9 years, on average, the diode laser output power has doubled
each year to the present commercially available 4 kW continuous wave diode laser
units, which have a power level comparable to other high-power lasers for materials
processing. The advantages of high-power diode lasers in terms of compactness,
energy e$ciency, lifetime and running costs have been increasingly recognised. Conse-
quently, various applications of high-power diode lasers for materials processing have

* Tel.: #44-161-200-3816; fax: #44-161-200-3803.

E-mail address: l.li@umist.ac.uk (L. Li).

0143-8166/00/$ - see front matter ( 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 1 4 3 - 8 1 6 6 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 6 6 - X
232 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253

been reported. These include those which are currently being carried out using CO
2
and Nd:YAG lasers, such as hardening and welding, and those which are new such as
tile grout sealing. Frequently, questions are asked on whether diode lasers could
replace CO and Nd:YAG lasers in the future for materials processing due to the
2
associated cost bene"ts and whether there are any special features of diode laser
materials processing. This paper intends to answer some of these questions by
reviewing the advances and characteristics of direct high-power diode laser (HPDL)
applications for materials processing in the last decade so that the inherent advant-
ages and disadvantages of diode laser materials processing can be identi"ed. Speci"c
emphasis is placed on the recognition of material behaviour di!erences between
HPDL and other high-power lasers during processing. It is hoped that, from this
study, a broad picture can be obtained on what HPDLs can do and what they are not
specially given to do.

2. Characteristics of high-power diode lasers

The materials for the manufacture of diode lasers are based on semiconductors of
group III}V compounds. Population inversion, as a result of electron transitions from
the valency band to the conduction band of doped semiconductors, is achieved by
forward biasing the p}n junctions. Spontaneous emission and stimulated emission
occur when electrons in the conduction band recombines with the holes in the valency
band. The optical cavity in a diode laser is formed by cleaving two opposite facets of
the semiconductor wafer * forming a Fabry}Perot lasing cavity. The "rst diode laser
was demonstrated in 1962 in several laboratories [2}4]. Diode lasers with continuous
wave (cw) output powers in excess of 0.5 W (class IV) are referred to as high-power
diode lasers or HPDLs.
HPDLs have many special optical properties that are di!erent from other types of
high-power lasers. These properties include wide spectrum band (2}20 nm), large
beam divergence (up to 403 half-angle), non-symmetrical beam distribution (2.5}6
times di!erence in beam divergence in the two orthogonal axes) and astigmatism [5].
These properties are described brie#y in the following sections.

2.1. Wavelength

The wavelength at which a diode laser emits is dependent upon the band gap
energy, cavity length and refractive index of the semiconductor. It is therefore material
dependent, temperature dependent and driving current dependent. Table 1 lists the
wavelengths of a selected range of diode lasers among which AlGaAs and InGaAs are
the materials mainly used for high-power diode lasers operating in the IR spectrum.
Tuning of the diode laser wavelength can be achieved by temperature control (up to
0.4 nm/3C) [5]. Also variation of laser power by varying input current can also lead to
wavelength changes. For example, for AlGaAs lasers, the wavelength typically cha-
nges 0.025 nm/mA [5]. Thus, in practice, high-power diode lasers have broader
wavelength bands than CO and Nd:YAG lasers.
2
 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253 233

Table 1
Wavelengths of a sleeted range of diode laser materials

Materials AlGaAs InGaAs AlGaInP

Wavelengths (nm) 720}880 940}990 630}690

2.2. Laser power, energy ezciency and beam formation

HPDLs are usually driven by a continuous current source with a low voltage. They
therefore have the potential to be powered by batteries as well as a two-phase mains
supply or a three-phase system. In fact, a battery powered 10 W HPDL has been
demonstrated [6]. A linear relationship exists between the driving current and the
output laser power for practical HPDLs. Diode laser output power can therefore be
switched on and o! rapidly by pulsing the control current. Typical electrical to optical
conversion e$ciency of a high-power diode laser unit is 20}30% with a maximum of
50%, although theoretical values can be up to 90%. These values are higher than
other high-power lasers (e.g. 10}15% for CO lasers, 1}5% for arc lamp pumped
2
Nd:YAG lasers and 1}2% for excimer lasers). A single-laser diode has very limited
power ((5 W). Consequently, commercial HPDLs are either based on one-dimen-
sional monolithic linear array (a bar of around 1 cm long stacked with 15}150 diode
emitters on a single sub-assembly) or two-dimensional multi-layer arrays (several 1-D
bars stacked together to form a rectangular emitting surface). There is, therefore,
practically no limit to the maximum power diode laser stacks can deliver. Currently
HPDLs of 4 kW continuous wave direct output and 2.5 kW "bre-delivered beams are
available [64]. Commercial HPDLs are normally water-cooled for powers above
120 W. For powers at or below 120 W air-cooled systems are used. The high energy
e$ciency of HPDLs makes the laser units and the cooling systems very compact
(many times smaller than the equivalent CO , Nd:YAG and excimer lasers). Typical
2
life time of commercial HPDL units is 4000}5000 operating hours. Since the practical
diode laser beams from such units are the combination of those coming from
a number of laser diode emitters, highly incoherent multimode output beams will
result. Typical M2 values for commercial HPDLs for materials processing are within
50}500 and numerical apertures of 0.3}0.5. This property limits the focusability of
HPDLs resulting in low brightness. On the other hand, this multiple beam integration
enables HPDLs to deliver beams of higher temporal stability (less spiky beams) than
other high-power lasers. A further weakness of HPDLs is that they cannot be
Q-switched due to the short upper stage life time (a few ns) of the excited electrons and
the low optical damage threshold of the cleaved ends of the resonate cavities.

2.3. Beam divergence and asymmetry

Because diode laser emission is con"ned to a narrow p}n junction region (typically
1}3 lm), di!raction of the light results in a large beam divergence. Half-angle beam
234 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253

divergence, h, is given by [7]

j
h+sin~1 , (1)
a

where a is the width of active region and j is the laser wavelength. For j"0.8 lm and
a"2 lm, h+23.63. The half-angle beam divergence of diode emitters can be up to
453 in the direction perpendicular to the facet [7]. Due to the non-circular cross-
section of the active region, the output radiation of diode lasers quickly diverges in the
direction perpendicular to the plane of the p-n junction (fast axis), and slowly diverges
in the parallel direction (slow axis). The slow axis diverges by a factor 2.5}6 times less
than the fast axis [8]. This inherent asymmetry can be reasonably corrected with
appropriate anamorphic beam condition optics (expanding the beam in one direction)
such as high numerical aperture spherical lens combined with a cylindrical lens
telescope. Methods of producing symmetrical beams include the use of micro prisms
[9], bundle of "bres combined with micro step-mirrors [10, 11] or cylindrical optical
systems [8]. However, a low F number lens has to be used for focusing the high
M2 HPDL beams in order to achieve a reasonable beam spot size. This results in short
working distance for the HPDLs. Another feature of the HPDL beams is that they are
astigmatic, i.e. beams in the two perpendicular directions do not come from one waist
location. Weak cylindrical lenses are normally used to correct this problem. Commer-
cial HPDLs not using a "bre beam delivery usually give rectangular beams due to fast
and slow axis collimations. These beams, although having di!erent beam divergence
in two orthogonal directions, may have an advantage for surface treatments since
additional beam integration is not required to produce a uniform rectangular beam
pro"le.

3. Applications of high-power diode lasers for materials processing

In order to understand the suitability of HPDLs for material processing applica-

tions, a range of reported work on this subject is reviewed. Since the currently
available HPDLs are limited to a maximum power density of 2.6]105 W cm~2, most
applications of the HPDLs for materials processing are limited to surface treatments,
conduction limited welding, soldering, scribing and marking, although cutting, drill-
ing and keyhole welding have also been attempted. In the following, the character-
istics of HPDL applications for materials processing are also described.

3.1. Soldering

Soldering was the earliest reported diode laser application for materials processing
[1]. The main advantage of laser soldering over the conventional soldering such as
re#ow or vapour-phase soldering is that the laser beam can be directed accurately
onto a target area without heating the surrounding parts thus reducing the risk of
thermal damage. As a result, very small connectors (down to 200 lm diameter) can be
 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253 235

laser soldered. Surface mount soldering using 10}25 W air-cooled HPDL beams
delivered through optical "bres has been achieved by many workers [12}17]. HPDLs
of such a power level are the size of a lap top computer. The compactness and
reliability of the diode lasers o!er a great advantage over other lasers such as the
Nd:YAG lasers. Also, due to the shorter wavelength, HPDL output is better ab-
sorbed, to a certain extent, by the soldering materials, than that of CO and Nd:YAG
2
lasers. Commercial applications of HPDL soldering include the joining of telephone
connectors using a 25 W HPDL. An actual production machine has been developed
and commissioned and is positively impacting the costs and production performance
[15].

3.2. Transformation hardening

Initial studies into using relatively low-powered HPDLs ((550 W) for hardening
were reported by a number of workers [8,18}20]. These include transformation
hardening 400 series stainless-steel tapes of 0.1 mm thickness using a 15 W "bre-
delivered HPDL having a 1 mm beam spot size [18], transformation hardening of
stainless-steel sheets of 0.15 mm thickness using a 500 W diode laser at 30 m/min
traverse speed [19] and the hardening of controller shaft fabricated from 100Cr6 steel
with a power of 300 W #at-top rectangular beam pro"le [8]. Good uniformity of
hardened depth was found using the #at-top beam [8]. Furthermore, saw blade tips
(micro-edge), cutter drums and scalpels of CK60 steel were also hardened. During the
transformation hardening of 42CrMoS4 using a 200 W HPDL having 0.8]5 mm2
beam size, Loosen et al. found that diode laser system used was very sensitive to
backre#ection which caused damage to the diode laser [20].
More recently, industrial scale kilowatt HPDLs have become available. These
lasers have uniform rectangular distributed beams similar to the traditional integrated
beams utilising beam integrators. They are, therefore, ideal for surface treatment.
Ehlers et al. reported the use of a 2.4 kW HPDL with a linear shaped beam pro"le for
hardening medium carbon steel M1044 producing a constant hardened depth of 1 mm
and a width of 20 mm [21]. Kugler et al. demonstrated the use of a 1.5 kW diode laser
(one direction Gaussian and the other rectangular) for transformation hardening of
tool steels. The work shows that higher hardness and wider track width can be
achieved with the HPDL due to better beam absorption as a result of shorter
wavelength than with a 2 kW Nd:YAG laser (Gaussian beam) [22]. Bonss et al.
described the use of a 1.4 kW HPDL (940 lm wavelength) and 6.6]6.1 mm2 rectangu-
lar spot for hardening carbon steel (AISI 1045) [19]. The work showed that the
HPDL has approximately 70% absorption compared with 10}15% for the CO laser
2
and 65% for the Nd:YAG laser. In fact, in this particular case the CO laser hardening
2
process required the application of an absorption coating on the workpiece surface.
Applications include the hardening of piston rings, razor blades, pliers and turbine
blades. Klocke el al. discovered the importance of laser beam traverse direction for
a rectangular HPDL beam. The process e$ciency (de"ned as hardened volume/laser
power) decreases to 60% when the long beam axis is along the feed direction [23].
236 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253

3.3. Welding/brazing

Due to the low laser power density currently achievable for the HPDLs, most
reported work on HPDL welding is based on conduction-limited welding [22}26].
Bonss et al. reported the use of a 500 W HPDL to weld 0.5 mm thick stainless steels
with a welding speed of 6000 mm/min. No plasma or key hole formation was found
[19]. In addition, 0.8 mm thick aluminium (A1120) was butt-welded using a 2 kW
HPDL. Haag and Rudla! reported that butt welding of 0.8 mm stainless-steel sheets
(X5CrNi189) could be achieved using a 800 W HPDL [8]. Smooth welds have been
achieved without pores or other defects. It was found that conduction welding was
particularly good for aluminium where the process is inherently more unstable due to
low vaporisation and ionisation thresholds. The extraordinary surface smoothness of
the weld bead was found to be attributed to the mode stability of the HPDL system.
Klocke et al. showed that conduction butt welding of X5CrNi189 using a 600 W diode
laser (wavelength 940 lm) results in defect-free (spatter, tears and pores) welds [23]. It
was observed that there was no HAZ and there was a clear boundary between the
weld zone and the parent material. Kugler et al. discovered that welding with fast axis
in the traverse direction was more e$cient featuring faster speed and smaller heat-
a!ected zone [22]. A comparison between a diode laser (1.5 kW) and a CO laser
2
(1 kW) for welding high carbon (0.95% wt% C) steel by Ng and Waston [24] showed
that the diode laser (2.1]104 W cm~2) generated weld beads had central line cracks
at higher speeds whilst CO laser (1.3]105 W cm~2) generated beads do not. For
2
diode laser welds a uniform hardness pro"le as a function of weld depth was observed.
Similar volumes of weld were achieved for both lasers at speeds above 10 mm s~1.
Moreover, greater beam absorption by the material was observed for the HPDL.
Triantafyllidis et al. have shown that HPDLs can be used e!ectively for welding
thermocouple wires [25]. The weld quality produced with the "bre delivered HPDL
beam was found to be superior (beadless and porosity free) to the existing plasma arc
welded thermocouples. Tensile strength was increased by 4 times and temperature
measurement response time reduced by 35% compared to the plasma arc-welded
thermocouples. The weld was also found to be marginally better than those welded
with an Nd:YAG laser for the 0.2 mm diameter thermocouple wires as shown in Fig. 1.
The process was found to be very sensitive to the shroud gas type and #ow rate due to
the cooling e!ect.
Due to the requirement of a laser power density of over 105 W cm~2 for
laser keyhole welding of metallic materials, most of the reported results of using
direct HPDLs for welding metallic materials are based on thermal conduction
mechanism limited by the laser power density achievable. Notwithstanding this,
keyhole welding of metallic materials has been achieved by Petring et al. (ILT,
Germany) using a multi-kW HPDL at a power density of 2]105 W cm~2 for welding
2 mm stainless steel at 0.5 m/min [27]. Also Bliedtner et al. (IFW, Germany) reported
successful keyhole welding stainless steels of up to 3.9 mm thick at 1000 m/min
welding rate with a 2.5 kW Jenoptik diode laser delivered with 1.5 mm optical
"bre giving a laser power density of 2.6]105 W cm~2 on workpiece when the
beam was focused to a 1 mm diameter spot. A cross gas jet was used to prevent
 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253 237

Fig. 1. A comparison of thermocouple performance welded with HPDL, Nd:YAG laser and commercial
Argon arc systems.

the weld plume from damaging the processing head which was 3.4 cm away from the
workpiece [64].
Hansch et al. reported work in which HPDLs were used for welding plastics and
polymer [28]. Although absorption of polymer at the near IR is similar to that at the
far IR (10}15%) spectrum, much greater beam transmission was found for the HPDL
(5}75%). Various pigments were used to vary the beam absorptivity. The work shows
that green-coloured polymer has the highest absorption coe$cient (70%) followed by
red, blue, natural and yellow. Absorption length can be reduced to 0.1 mm. One
special feature of such an arrangement is that surface absorption can lead to deep
penetration due to high transmission or absorption length of the HPDLs. Applica-
tions of such techniques include the welding of car belt holder and sun glasses, etc.
Also work by Loosen et al. shows that HPDL welding of plastics can result in joint
strength of more than 50% higher than that achieved with ultrasonic welding [20].
Schuber et al. reported the use of a 1.4 kW HPDL for joining (brazing) aluminium
to steel substrates with a "ller wire (Al}Si12) to prevent cracking [29]. Molten
aluminium #ows over the surface of the steel sheet. There is no performance di!erence
from an Nd:YAG laser.

3.4. Surface melting and wetting characteristics modixcation for improved

coating/bonding

The interfacial phenomenon of wetting is often the primary factor governing

whether a coating will adhere and bond to a substrate in practical applications such as
enamelling and thermal spray coating. Recent work at UMIST by Lawrence et al. has
238 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253

Table 2
Surface roughness, surface energy and wetting contact angles of mild steels before and after diode laser
surface melting

Lasers

Untreated CO Nd:YAG Excimer HPDL

2
Surface roughness (Ra), (lm) 1.46 2.58 1.25 2.12 1.12
Surface energy (polar component9), mJ m~2) 4.17 3.83 4.24 4.02 6.59
Contact angle (Glycerol), (3) 44 51 43 46 32

shown that the wetting characteristics of a selected range of ceramic, metallic and
composite materials can be modi"ed by high-power diode laser surface treatments
[30}34]. The changes in surface morphology (e.g. roughness), surface composition
(e.g. O content) and surface energy (principally the polar component) are identi"ed as
2
being the principal factors a!ecting the wetting characteristics. Microstructure cha-
nges were found to be unimportant in in#uencing the changes in wetting character-
istics [31]. Comparisons were made between the HPDL and other high-power lasers
(CO , Nd:YAG and excimer) for surface treatment of composites and metals [30,31].
2
HPDL-treated (melted) surfaces were found to have a surface roughness values less
than those treated (melted) with other lasers as shown in Table 2 for mild steels.
Meanwhile, the polar component of the surface energy is higher for the HPDL treated
surfaces and the contact angle for the control liquid used is lower for the HPDL
treated surfaces. This can be attributed to the better beam stability of the diode lasers.
Applications of the technique include surface enamelling [34] and sealing of tile
grouts [33] as a new clean room technology.

3.5. Surface glazing (densixcation) for crack/porosity sealing

A 60 W diode laser was used by the UMIST team to densify 60 and 85% Al O -
2 3
based refractory materials [35]. The work aimed to improve the corrosion and
erosion resistance of these materials at high temperatures. The work showed that
diode laser processing produced a more homogeneous, denser phase than the un-
treated materials. Compared with the CO laser treated samples, the HPDL produc-
2
ed more adherent and less cracked laser-treated zones. Columnar grain formation
was found in the CO laser-treated samples whilst "ne needle-like structures were
2v
formed in the diode-laser-treated zones as shown in Fig. 2. This work showed that,
there was a de"nite di!erence in the behaviour of material when treated with a diode
laser and a CO laser. Further work by Lawrence and Li using a HPDL for the
2
surface glazing of concrete revealed that the HPDL can produce better quality
surfaces than those obtained with the CO laser since the latter is given to generating
2
larger heat-a!ected zone, spallation and cracks on the concrete samples under the
same operating conditions [36]. One of the reasons for this marked di!erence was
found to be the signi"cant di!erence in the beam absorption length (470$22 lm for
 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253 239

Fig. 2. SEM photographs of typical laser treated 85% alumina-based refractory ceramics. (a) CO laser
2
treated. (b) HPDL treated.

the CO laser and 177$15 lm for the diode laser) as a result of di!erent laser
2
wavelengths [37]. The applications of this technique include wear improvement [62],
corrosion protection [35], decoration and sealing of surface contamination
[36,38,39].

3.6. Marking, engraving and scribing

A 60 W "bre delivered diode laser was used by Li et al. for marking and engraving
marble, granite, clay tiles, ceramic tiles, roof tiles, cement, bricks, glass, and wood
[40,41]. High-contrast marks have been generated on these materials by heating,
240 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253

melting or material removal mechanisms. The colour of materials was found to have
an e!ect on the beam absorption. Light-coloured material re#ects more of the laser
beam. This has caused non-uniform line width for marbles with vains of a di!erent
colour although an absorption coating could reduce this e!ect [41]. Di!erent shroud
gases were also found to have a signi"cant e!ect on the quality and colour of the
marks generated, with O gas shroud giving less porous and darker coloured glazes
2
compared with those obtained using Ar gas.
In another report by Ponnaluri and Molian, it was shown that a 15 W (820 nm
wavelength) "bre beam delivery (400 lm core diameter) diode laser could be used to
scribe 25 lm thick metallic glass 2605 (Fe80B12Si8) ribbons used in transformers [42].
Laser scribing reduced the core losses in transformers by decreasing the eddy current
losses through domain re"nement. When the material is scribed, the diode laser beam
melts the ribbon locally and the melt rapidly resolidi"es back into the amorphous
state. This interaction induces domain re"nement in the material reducing the core
loss. Scribing amorphous materials is only suitable for low power lasers. Too high
power creates excessive localised stress. Re-crystallisation may occur. In this applica-
tion, the diode laser has replaced the previously used Nd:YAG lasers due to lower
costs.

3.7. Machining

Slocombe and Li demonstrated the use of a 60 W "bre delivered diode laser for the
direct machining of NiCr/polymer and Al/polymer composites [43,44]. This was
intended to produce solid metallic or ceramic functional parts by sintering the laser
machined composite parts. Highly re#ective materials such as aluminium and copper
can be laser machined easily using this technique. More than 20-fold reduction in laser
power requirement was identi"ed. In this process, a pre-mixed block of the
metal/polymer composite was scanned with the diode laser. The polymer binder was
removed selectively by the diode laser beam at very low temperatures (around 3003C)
and ejected with a gas jet (Ar). The process is a reverse version of selective
laser sintering to eliminate error transformation in layered manufacturing [45,46].
When the laser was "red directly at the NiCr and Al metal blocks, there was
only a small temperature rise and no melting occurred. When the laser beam was
"red to the polymer block (transparent), the laser beam passed through without
leaving any visible e!ects. The mechanism of the laser machining was identi"ed as
being due to the absorption of the laser beam by the metal powders which then
transfer the thermal energy, by conduction, to the polymer binder which heats up to
its decomposition point. The loose metal powders are then ejected by the gas jet. The
technique, not previously reported using other lasers, is therefore a new application.
Thermoset polymer instead of thermoplastic polymer was preferred. This work
demonstrates that very low-power lasers (more than 20 times less power requirement
compare to that for machining a solid metallic block) can be used for producing
metallic parts.
Machining of marbles using a 60 W diode laser was reported by Li et al.
[40, 41]. Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized calcite or
 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253 241

dolomite. Therefore marble contains 95 wt% of CaCO . Laser heating of marble

3
resulted in decomposition of CaCO at temperatures between 825 and 9503C.
3
CaCO "CaO#CO !42.52 kcal/mol. (2)
3 2
The breakdown results in white, unslaked lime (CaO) and carbon dioxide.
HPDL-assisted machining was reported by Loosen et al. [20] involving a 1 kW
diode laser pre-heating the material in front of the mechanical cutting tool for
machining Si3N4 ceramics. Increased removal e$ciency was noted.

3.8. Paint stripping

Applications of HPDLs for the removal of white chlorinated rubber paint from
concrete surfaces have been reported by Schmidt et al. [47,48]. The work was aimed at
developing a portable device for decontamination of buildings in the nuclear industry.
The process mechanism was identi"ed to be principally a laser-controlled combustion
as against laser chemical, laser acoustic and laser ablative processes encountered when
other lasers are used. O gas was used in the process to assist the combustion process.
2
Paint removal depth with O gas was found to be 4 times as high as the case when
2
N or Ar gas was used. When the diode laser beam was turned o! the combustion
2
process stopped as well. The combustion process enables the sustained beam absorp-
tion which is normally less than 2% for this material. A linear relationship between
laser power and paint removal rate was obtained. The ash particle size was found to
increase with laser power density and decrease with increasing oxygen #ow suggesting
both combustion and laser vaporisation/ablation taking place [49]. A comparison
was made with CO , Nd:YAG, excimer lasers and an arc lamp in Fig. 3. The
2

Fig. 3. Comparison of removal depth vs. laser #uence for various lasers during the removal of white
chlorinated rubber.
242 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253

Table 3
Comparison of diode laser and other optical sources for the removal of chlorinated rubber coatings from
concrete substrates

Energy source Ablation threshold, E!ective absorption Thermal loading,

F (J cm~2) coe$cient, a (cm~1) c(J cm~3)
T
Arc lamp 37.4 64.7 2419
RF CO laser 5.2 425 2200
2
CW CO laser 0.3 300 90
2
HPDL 38 40 1500
Excimer laser 0.04 30000 1200
Nd:YAG laser 4.8 212 1000

absorption coe$cients, ablation thresholds and thermal loading of these lasers are
compared in Table 3. It can be seen that the diode laser does not have an advantage in
these aspects. However, the diode laser is portable and more energy e$cient in laser
power generation. These advantages may compensate the weakness in beam absorp-
tion. In addition, the excimer laser ablation showed a redeposition problem and had
very slow removal rate. CO laser-produced residues which were di$cult to remove
2
and the concrete substrates was very easily damaged (scabbled). The Nd:YAG laser
produced very rough surfaces with incomplete paint removal due to the domination of
photo-ablation rather than combustion. The diode laser has excellent control over the
removal depth and residuals produced can be easily extracted away. The robustness
and portability of the diode laser gives an advantage for this type of application.

3.9. Sintering and synthesis for rapid prototyping

Li et al. reported the use of a 60 W diode laser for the sintering of Cu/Zn powders
selectively as a method for rapid prototyping [50, 51]. A new layer-by-layer compact-
ing technique was used to enable the reduction of layer thickness and the increase of
green part density. The use of a diode laser opens the opportunity for desk top rapid
prototyping. Slocombe and Li reported the combination of selective diode laser
sintering with self-propagation high-temperature synthesis (SHS) for the controlled
synthesis of TiC/Al O [52]. Powders of TiO , aluminium and carbon were mixed
2 3 2
stoichiometrically. After compacting (layer-by-layer) the diode laser was able to
initiate and control the solid-state combustion to produce TiC and Al O composites
2 3
in the following reaction:
3TiO #4Al#3CP3TiC#2Al O #exothermic energy. (3)
2 2 3
The work showed that powder density was extremely important for the control of
SHS. Without compacting, SHS cannot be controlled properly resulting in over
spread of the reaction beyond the laser-scanned tracks. With compacting the degree of
SHS can be limited to within the laser-scanned track. Furthermore, shroud gas was
found to play an important role in the reaction process. The use of reactive gas such as
O has led to the burning of C, therefore, there is insu$cient C to form TiC.
2
 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253 243

A comparison was made between the diode laser and a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser
operating at high frequencies (20 kHz) with a defocused beam of an identical beam size
as the HPDL. No signi"cant di!erences in materials morphological characteristics
were found. This is a new application not previously reported with other lasers. The
use of diode lasers may open up a potential for desk top processes.

3.10. Bending/sheet metal forming

LoH pez et al. used a 100 W continuous wave (CW) diode laser of 810 nm wavelength
and a focused spot of 1 mm]0.5 mm to bend aluminium alloy sheets (AlMg3), car
body sheet steel St14 and stainless steel of 0.5}2 mm [53]. The work shows that the
e!ect of material thermal di!usivity is dependent on the material thickness. For thin
materials (0.5 mm), the bending angle of Alis higher than those of stainless steel and
mild steel and vice versa for 2 mm thick material. Graphite coating was used at
the surface of AlMg3 in order to improve the beam absorption. Recent work at
UMIST conducted by Lawrence et al. [54] using a 2.5 kW rectangular diode laser
beam (6]6 mm) on a 0.8 mm thick mild steel (En3) found that a minimum
threshold of 138 J mm~1 line energy density exists for bending the material below
which no bending can occur no matter how many scans are made. A linear relation-
ship between the number of passes and bending angle for up to 55 passes was found
for laser line energy density below 260 J mm~1. A comparison between the diode laser
bending and CO /Nd:YAG laser bending is currently being carried out by the
2
UMIST team.

3.11. Cladding

Work by Nowotny et al. [55] shows that a 1.4 kW diode laser is equivalent to
a 3.9 kW CO laser for the cladding of Stellite21 on a mild steel substrate. An increase
2
of beam absorption by a factor of 2.5 has been demonstrated for the HPDL.

3.12. Other applications

Attempts have been made to use HPDLs for cutting and drilling applications,
despite the poor focusability of the HPDLs. These are mainly for thin "lms or sheets
such as the work of ToK nsho! et al. [57] using a 25 W HPDL focused to a 1 mm beam
spot. The materials studied include stainless steel (1 mm thickness), mild steel (0.5 mm
thickness), aluminium (0.25 mm thickness), copper (0.25 mm thickness), plastics, ep-
oxy, paper and wood. A detailed report on the e!ect of cutting and drilling is not
given. The quality of the cut may not be as good as that produced with CO and
2
Nd:YAG lasers [26,58]. A common problem is the large kerf width and large
heat-a!ected zones. This is mainly due to the large beam spot sizes (normally above
500 lm diameter) of the currently available HPDLs. Li et al. showed that HPDL
cutting of glass by controlled microcracking had resulted in much better cut than with
the conventional mechanical means [40]. An absorption coating is required for
cutting clear glasses since they are transparent to the HPDL beams.
244 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253

Table 4
Asummary of HPDL applications for materials processing and their features

HPDL applications Features Ref.

Soldering f Better beam absorption than CO 1, 12}17

Transformation hardening
Welding/brazing
Surface melting (sealing,
wettability modi"cation)
Marking/engraving/scribing
2
and Nd:YAG lasers.
f Compact
f Better beam absorption than Nd:YAG 8, 18}23
lasers (8% higher) and CO lasers
2
(up to 500% higher).
f More uniform
f E$ciency depends on beam scanning
direction with fast axis direction having
higher e$ciency.
f Sensitive to back-re#ection
f Dominated by conduction welding for 8,19}20, 22}29, 64
power density (105 W cm~2, featuring
better quality weld and better surface
"nish than other lasers
f Keyhole welding possible with power
density '2]105 W cm~2
f Welding in the direction of fast axis is
more e$cient.
f Better surface "nish (smoother) than 30}39
Nd:YAG and CO laser melted
2
f Shorter absorption length than CO
2
lasers on concrete
f Generating di!erent microstructures
from those by CO lasers
2
f Good power control 40}42
f Colour of material a!ects beam
absorption.

Machining f Desk-top process 20, 43}44

Paint stripping f Lower e$ciency than CO and 47}48
2
YAG lasers
f Better paint ash structure and
removal
f Portable
Sintering f Desk top process 50}52
Forming f Flexible 53}54

Cladding f 2.5 times higher beam absorption 55

than CO lasers
2
Cutting/drilling f Poor quality for metals 26, 57}58, 40
f Reasonably good for class
 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253 245

A summary of HPDL applications for the materials processing and their speci"c
features is given in Table 4.

4. Discussion

4.1. The advantages and disadvantages of HPDLs for materials processing

The applications of HPDLs have so far been largely focused on:

(a) traditional laser processing requiring laser power densities below
2]105 W cm~2 such as surface treatments, marking and conduction-limited welding.
(b) New applications taking the advantages of portability of the HPDL to enable
desk top processing (such as soldering, microwelding, machining and selective laser
sintering) and laser processing of large parts such as building structures where the
`workpiecea cannot be brought to the laser workstation.
The material behaviour for the HPDL processing has been found to be di!erent
from the other high-power lasers in the following aspects:
f fewer cracks and less spallation for surface glazing/sealing.
f More uniform melt/heating zones.
f Smoother surface.
f Better beam absorption for metallic materials.
f More consistent and repeatable.
These advantages are the result of features unique to the HPDLs, such as: shorter
wavelength (thus better beam absorption for most metallic materials, Fig. 4, and
smaller absorption length) and better temporal beam stability (due to beam integra-
tion) compared to Nd:YAG and CO lasers. HPDL materials processing is, therefore,
2
expected to produce better quality and more consistent and repeatable results for
applications requiring beam spot sizes larger than 0.5 mm diameter. HPDLs may be
particularly good for processing aluminium since the beam absorption has a peak
value at the HPDL wavelengths (Fig. 4). One of the issues of concern in the practical
applications of the lasers in materials processing for mass production is the repeatabil-
ity. It is a well-known fact that the same laser processing parameters may not
necessarily produce the same results in laser materials processing. It has already been
noticed that HPDLs can produce more consistent materials-processing results than
Nd:YAG lasers. This feature, together with the lower maintenance costs and longer
service life would make HPDLs suitable for mass production applications such as the
soldering of telephone connectors. Other advantages of the HPDLs are:
f lower running cost.
f Higher energy e$ciency (up to 35% wall plug e$ciency) thus the cooling require-
ment is low and the size of laser and cooling unit is small.
f Flexible beam shaping by controlling the intensity of individual beams [56].
f Theoretically unlimited average power.
f Portable.
f Longer service life (typically 4000}5000 up to 10000 h).
246 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253

Fig. 4. Re#ectivity spectrum of various polished metal surfaces.

The capital costs of comparably powered lasers show that the cost of HPDLs is
already lower than those of Nd:YAG and excimer lasers and is expected to be lower
than that of CO lasers in a few years time. This is largely due to the mass production
2
capability of the semiconductors fuelled by the increased market demand. Some other
advantages such as fast switching and complex pulse shape control by direct elec-
tronic waveform generation and wavelength tunability have not yet been fully utilised
for HPDLs in materials processing.
Despite the many and various advantages of HPDLs over other high-power lasers,
they are still limited in applications due to several disadvantages. These include:
f poor beam mode structure thus poor focusability, lower power density and smaller
lens to workpiece stand-o! distance (low F number lens is required for focusing).
f Astigmatism and asymmetry of the beams resulting in di!erent beam divergence in
the two perpendicular directions causing the beam spot geometry variation dispro-
portionally depending on the distance between workpiece and laser lens.
f The inability for Q-switching unless through pumping another solid-state laser.
f Beam absorption is workpiece colour dependent.
f Di!erent processing characteristics in the fast- and slow-axis directions with the
fast-axis direction more e$cient.
As seen in the previous sections, the HPDLs are well suited to soldering, hardening,
melting, welding and various surface treatment applications. This can be expected by
examining Fig. 5, since HPDLs are now only available for a maximum power density
of 2.6]105 W cm~2 and most of them are operated in the CW mode. The di$culty of
 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253 247

Fig. 5. E!ects and possible applications of lasers under various operating conditions (data from [59]).

focusing the HPDL beams to a smaller (e.g. less than 200 lm) spot size prevents the
application of diode lasers for industrial cutting and drilling processes. Short working
distance causes inconvenience for optics protection and avoiding collision with
workpiece, and di$culties for sample clamping, etc. The incapability for Q-switching
prevents the direct use of HPDLs for shock hardening, "ne marking of metals,
ablation and micromaching applications.

4.2. Prediction of the roles of HPDLs in materials processing in the next 5}10 years

Based on the above analysis, it can be reasonably estimated that HPDLs will
possibly compete heavily with the high-power range of CO lasers for the surface
2
treatment and welding of metallic materials. This is primarily because of the HPDL's
better beam stability, better beam absorption by metals, smaller physical sizes and
lower running costs. However, sealed-o! CO , fast axial #ow CO and slab CO
2 2 2
lasers have the advantages of better beam quality and focusability than diode lasers.
CO lasers also have the advantages of being very well absorbed by organic, glass and
2
ceramic materials and are relatively colour independent. Therefore, within the next
5}10 years one would expect that CO laser systems of less than 4 kW power would
2
still dominate the cutting market and processing of organic (e.g. polymer, textile,
paper, tissue material and food), glass and ceramic materials.
Diode lasers do not have signi"cant wavelength advantages over Nd:YAG lasers,
although an improved beam absorption for metallic materials has been noticed. In
addition, diode lasers cannot produce a Q-switched beam directly, although diode
pumped solid-state lasers can. Therefore, Nd:YAG lasers, especially diode pumped
248 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253

Nd:YAG lasers, which have much better beam quality and energy e$ciency than the
arc lamp pumped Nd:YAG lasers (even higher than the CO lasers) will still play an
2
important role in materials processing such as drilling, marking and micromachining
due to their capability of producing Q-switched and mode-locked pulses. Nd:YAG
lasers with arc lamp pumping may "nd it di$cult to compete with diode-pumped
Nd:YAG lasers in the future due to the lower e$ciency and inferior beam quality of
the arc lamp pumped systems. As a result, diode lasers have already been to indirectly
replace the conventional arc-lamp-pumped Nd:YAG lasers by simply being part of
Nd:YAG laser itself. However, the cost of these lasers are over 100}500% higher than
the equivalent direct diode lasers. Consequently, it is expected that the CW Nd:YAG
lasers will give some grounds to the HPDLs.
Although diode lasers can be frequency doubled and quadrupled to produce visible
and UV beams. The e$ciency of such conversions will be adversely a!ected by the
wider spectrum of the HPDLs. In addition, their incapability of producing high peak
power, ultra short pulse beams directly makes them di$cult to replace copper vapour
lasers and excimer lasers for micromaching applications, although diode-pumped
solid-state lasers are starting to compete with excimer and copper vapour lasers in this
area.
Nevertheless, many of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the HPDLs, such as
poor beam coherence and asymmetry, can be overcome by the introduction of
diode-pumped solid-state lasers like the "bre lasers and diode-pumped Nd:YAG
lasers as well as the use of optical "bre beam delivery. Moreover, the portability of
HPDLs would enable the development of new areas of applications such as building
materials processing and in-service repairs. A hand-held diode laser welding device
delivering 1.2 kW HPDL beam through an optical "bre was demonstrated by Exner
and Drechsel [60]. Such a device would aid the new applications for in-service repairs
and manual welding of large structures. Future development of diode lasers may
include the reduction of M2 to enable the use of longer focal length lens and to
produce smaller beam sizes, thus higher power density.
If one asks the question: under what circumstances should a diode laser be used for
materials processing, the answer would be if the work can be done by a diode laser as
well as other lasers, then the diode lasers should be used for economy, energy
e$ciency, reliability and processing repeatability.
The diode lasers will be seen in the next 5}10 years actively been used for hardening,
cladding, alloying, soldering, glazing, welding, desk top processing, portable applica-
tions and integration with conventional machine tools for machining. These applica-
tions, however, only form a small part of overall laser materials processing market
which is still dominated by cutting and marking. Therefore, in the next 5}10 years, the
direct HPDLs in materials processing market share would be expected to increase
from the present less than 0.2% ($17 m compared to $1b total in 1999) to 3}5%.
Current uses of HPDLs are mainly for R & D. More practical industrial applications
will certainly boost the HPDL sales. The 1999 world materials processing laser
market share is shown in Fig. 6 (data derived from Ref. [61]). It can be expected that in
addition to the direct HPDL increase in market shares, diode pumped Nd:YAG lasers
will also increase their market share dramatically. Although the HPDL market for
 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253 249

Fig. 6. The market share distribution of lasers for materials processing applications. (a) 1999, (b) in
5}10 years time (predicted) to indicate the trend only.

Fig. 7. The HPDL sales in the last 4 years for materials processing.

materials processing dropped in 1999 as shown in Fig. 7 (data obtained from Ref.
[63]) largely due to the reduction in unit prices, the future looks good for the HPDLs
due to the increased awareness in the laser community, more practical applications
and further drop in price of the HPDLs.
250 L. Li / Optics and Lasers in Engineering 34 (2000) 231}253

5. Conclusions

A review on high-power diode laser applications for materials processing has been
carried out. Many special features of HPDL interaction with materials have been
identi"ed. These features include better surface "nish, less heat-a!ected zone, better
beam absorption, better morphological characteristics, more consistent and repeat-
able results, fewer cracks and less porosity generation. These are due to the multiple
beam integration and shorter wavelength of the HPDLs as compared to Nd:YAG and
CO lasers. In addition, HPDLs have the advantages of being potentially low in cost,
2
high in energy e$ciency, more reliable, longer service life and portable. HPDLs are
ideal for surface treatments and welding applications. Other portable and desk top
applications suitable for the HPDLs include soldering, micro-welding, brazing, build-
ing material marking/engraving, paint stripping, rapid prototyping and machining.
The weaknesses of the high-power diode lasers include high beam divergence (thus
di$cult to focus to a small beam size), beam absorption dependent on workpiece
colours and the di$culty to produce very high-peak-powered short-pulsed beam
directly (Q-switching). These prevent them from competing directly with other high-
power lasers for cutting, drilling, marking on metallic materials and micro-machining.
However, diode-pumped solid-state lasers can overcome many of the above weak-
nesses of the HPDLs. Therefore, HPDLs can also compete with other lasers for other
materials processing applications through imbedding in other lasers.

Acknowledgements

The author would like thank Professor W.M. Steen and the Journal of Optics and
Lasers in Engineering for inviting him to write this paper. The author would also like
to thank his colleagues and students in the UMIST Laser Processing Research Centre
(LPRC), Dr. J. Lawrence, Dr. L. Bradley, Mr. M.J.J. Schmidt, Mr. A. Slocombe, Mr.
D. Triantafyllidis and Mr. K.L. Ng, for providing original data and photographs
included in this paper.

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