The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) has developed three types of testbeds capable of evaluating the long-term performance of high-power laser light sources and optical components for the first time in Korea. The research team announced that they used these devices to continuously evaluate a domestically produced 1kW fiber laser and an F-Theta lens for 7 days (168 hours) and confirmed stable operating characteristics.

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) announced on the 9th that a research team led by Principal Researcher Jiyeon Choi of the Optical Application Equipment Laboratory at the Autonomous Manufacturing Research Institute has developed three types of equipment for evaluating high-power laser light sources and optical lenses, which are core components of laser processing machines. These evaluation devices are designed to measure changes in laser output, focal position errors, and the Laser Induced Damage Threshold (LIDT) of optical coatings.

The equipment developed by the research team records changes in high-power laser output in real time in response to variations in temperature and humidity, and measures focal position errors caused by the thermal lens effect of the lens. It also includes a function to evaluate the damage limits of optical coatings. It is also equipped with a safety operation feature that automatically stops the equipment if an abnormal operation occurs during a long-term test.

The research team applied this system to a domestically produced 1kW fiber laser and an F-theta lens to conduct a 168-hour continuous performance evaluation. A water-cooled structure and a temperature sensor were applied to the main optical mount, and a displacement sensor was introduced to detect distortion of the focal beam position caused by external vibrations. The LIDT evaluation equipment is capable of evaluating not only nanosecond pulse lasers but also continuous-wave lasers.

This testbed is also being utilized to improve products for domestic companies. The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials explained that a domestic optical company, which improved lens materials and production processes using the equipment, developed an F-Theta lens that has a smaller focal position error than overseas products even under conditions of continuous exposure to a 1kW laser for 7 days.

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) anticipates that this testbed can be utilized to verify the reliability of domestically produced equipment and components, given that laser processing machines are core equipment used in key manufacturing industries such as semiconductors, automobiles, and secondary batteries. Principal Researcher Choi Ji-yeon stated that the ability to conduct ISO standard-based verification and long-term customized evaluations will help secure performance data that closely resembles real-world usage environments. This research was conducted with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Full Lifecycle Technology Development Project for the Manufacturing Equipment Industry.