There have been two significant shifts in laser technology over the last 40 years, beginning with the CO₂ laser being displaced by the Nd:YAG laser, then the Nd:YAG laser being displaced by fiber lasers. Today, the blue laser technology being developed will be the next major shift in technology for both industrial and military applications. The high-power blue laser light offers many new capabilities that were unachievable without a high power visible light source. These applications range from welding copper to transmitting high power laser energy through water for underwater imaging and communications. This paper will introduce this new technology, summarize the tests performed to date on the industrial applications and review a number of military applications that could benefit from a high power visible light source.

Date Published: 13 May 2019
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 10981, Laser Technology for Defense and Security XV, 109810K (13 May 2019); doi: 10.1117/12.2522087

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 10981:
Laser Technology for Defense and Security XV
Mark Dubinskiy; Timothy C. Newell, Editor(s)