ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the exploring innovative approaches to enhance the stability of fiber optic laser beam delivery, with an application example of micromachining technology integrated onto a robotic laser thin-film patterning system. Cleaved fibers are best used for telecom applications, where industrial laser applications are often compromised due to residual damage from the cleaving process. The chapter covers the approaches to injection of lasers into geometrically shaped core fiber optics used as optical fiber laser beam delivery systems for industrial applications. Leveraging a diffuser-based injection technique provided the best overall performance while balancing tradeoffs, such as cost, complexity, and durability. Within industrial laser applications, various new possibilities have emerged for thin-film processing over large area substrates through the introduction of laser sources with higher powers and higher pulse repetition rates. The chapter also covers the concept of utilizing a refractive optical integrator as a means to fill the modes of a square core step-index fiber.
