• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.178-185
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• 2008

Recent progress in high power lasers enables us to access a regime of high-energy-density and/or ultra-strong fields that was not accessible before, opening up a fundamentally new physical domain which includes laboratory astrophysics and laser nuclear physics. In this article, new applications of high-energy and ultra-intense laser will be reviewed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.865-872
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• 2017

For more than 10 years, the laser process has been studied for dismantling work; however, relatively few research works have addressed the effect of high-power fiber laser cutting for thick sections. Since in the nuclear sector, a significant quantity of thick material is required to be cut, this study aims to improve the reliability of laser cutting for such work and indicates guidelines to optimize the cutting procedure, in particular, nozzle combinations (standoff distance and focus position), to minimize waste material. The results obtained show the performance levels that can be reached with 10 kW fiber lasers, using which it is possible to obtain narrower kerfs than those found in published results obtained with other lasers. Nonetheless, fiber lasers appear to show the same effects as those of $CO_2$ and ND:YAG lasers. Thus, the main factor that affects the kerf width is the focal position, which means that minimum laser spot diameters are advised for smaller kerf widths.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.1 no.5
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• pp.525-528
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• 2017

High-energy, high-power, quasi-continuous wave (QCW) operation of double-clad Yb fiber lasers incorporating an incoherent signal combiner is reported. We constructed four efficient, high-power Yb fiber lasers, each of which produced rectangular pulses at 1080 nm with a pulse energy greater than 15 J, and a pulse duration of 10 ms at a repetition rate of 10 Hz, corresponding to an average power of over 150 W and a peak power of over 1.5 kW for ~200 W of incident pump power at 915 nm. These laser outputs were combined by a homemade incoherent fiber signal combiner with low loss, yielding a maximum peak power of ~6.0 kW in a beam with $M^2{\approx}12.5$. The detailed laser characteristics and prospects for further power scaling in QCW operation are discussed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Laser Processing Conference
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• 1998.11a
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• pp.0-0
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• 1998

-Part I- As market needs become more various, the production of smaller quantities of a wider variety of products becomes increasingly important. In addition, in order to meet demands for more efficient production, long-term unmanned factory operation is prevailing at a remarkable pace. Within this context, laser machines are gaining increasing popularity for use in applications such as cutting and welding metallic and ceramic materials. FANUC supplies four models of $CO_2$ laser oscillators with laser power ranging from 1.5㎾ to 6㎾ on an OEM basis to machine tool builders. However, FANUC has been requested to produce laser oscillators that allow more compact and lower-cost laser machines to be built. To meet such demands, FANUC has developed six models of Slab type YAG laser oscillators with output power ranging from 150W to 2㎾. These oscillators are designed mainly fur cutting and welding sheet metals. The oscillator has an exceptionally superior laser beam quality compared to conventional YAG laser oscillators, thus providing significantly improved machining capability. In addition, the laser beam of the oscillator can be efficiently transmitted through quartz optical fibers, enabling laser machines to be simplified and made more compact. This paper introduces the features of FANUC’s developed Slab type YAG laser oscillators and their applications. - Part II - All-solid-state lasers employing laser diodes (LD) as a source of pumping solid-state laser feature high efficiency, compactness, and high reliability. Thus, they are expected to provide a new generation of processing tools in various fields, especially in automobile and aircraft industries where great hopes are being placed on laser welding technology for steel plates and aluminum materials for which a significant growth in demand is expected. Also, in power plants, it is hoped that reliability and safety will be improved by using the laser welding technology. As in the above, the advent of high-power all-solid-state lasers may not only bring a great technological innovation to existing industry, but also create new industry. This is the background for this project, which has set its sights on the development of high-power, all-solid-state lasers with an average output of over 10㎾, an oscillation efficiency of over 20%, and a laser head volume of below 0.05㎥. FANUC Ltd. is responsible for the research and development of slab type lasers, and TOSHIBA Corp. far rod type lasers. By pumping slab type Nd: YAG crystal and by using quasi-continuous wave (QCW) type LD stacks, FANUC has already obtained an average output power of 1.7㎾, an optical conversion efficiency of 42%, and an electro-optical conversion efficiency of 16%. These conversion efficiencies are the best results the world has ever seen in the field of high-power all-solid-state lasers. TOSHIBA Corp. has also obtained an output power of 1.2㎾, an optical conversion efficiency of 30％, and an electro-optical conversion efficiency of 12%, by pumping the rod type Nd: YAG crystal by continuous wave (CW) type LD stacks. The laser power achieved by TOSHIBA Corp. is also a new world record in the field of rod type all-solid-state lasers. This report provides details of the above results and some information on future development plans.

• Proceedings of the Optical Society of Korea Conference
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• 1989.02a
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• pp.39-42
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• 1989

The limitations of high-power electrical lasers due to heating of the gas and the instability of the glow discharge can be alleviated by the flow of the lasing medium. In order to achieve high power and efficient laser, we are developing a fast-axial flow CO2 laser. We describe here the classification of gas-discharge CO2 lasers according to the cooling methods of the lasing medium and the design features of the fast-axial flow CO2 laser.

• Proceedings of the Optical Society of Korea Conference
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• 2003.02a
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• pp.44-44
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• 2003

Free electron lasers (FEL) have, at least, the following advantages in comparison to conventional lasers： FEL can be designed for any arbitrary given emission wavelength. It is continuously tunable within wide band. Easy to get single-mode emission. Easily controlled emission structure (pulse duration, repetition rate, and pulse energy). (omitted)

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.6 no.6
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• pp.521-549
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• 2022

Fiber lasers have made remarkable progress over the past three decades, and they now serve far-reaching applications and have even become indispensable in many technology sectors. As there is an insatiable appetite for improved performance, whether relating to enhanced spatio-temporal stability, spectral and noise characteristics, or ever-higher power and brightness, thermal management in these systems becomes increasingly critical. Active convective cooling, such as through flowing water, while highly effective, has its own set of drawbacks and limitations. To overcome them, other synergistic approaches are being adopted that mitigate the sources of heating at their roots, including the quantum defect, concentration quenching, and impurity absorption. Here, these optical methods for thermal management are briefly reviewed and discussed. Their main philosophy is to carefully select both the lasing and pumping wavelengths to moderate, and sometimes reverse, the amount of heat that is generated inside the laser gain medium. First, the sources of heating in fiber lasers are discussed and placed in the context of modern fiber fabrication methods. Next, common methods to measure the temperature of active fibers during laser operation are outlined. Approaches to reduce the quantum defect, including tandem-pumped and short-wavelength lasers, are then reviewed. Finally, newer approaches that annihilate phonons and actually cool the fiber laser below ambient, including radiation-balanced and excitation-balanced fiber lasers, are examined. These solutions, and others yet undetermined, especially the latter, may prove to be a driving force behind a next generation of ultra-high-power and/or ultra-stable laser systems.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.1715-1719
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• 2004

An in-house supersonic ejector was designed to ensure low pressure and high speed scavenging of resonating cavity of chemical lasers. For given primary flow condition, 100g/s secondary mass flow rate was observed at the design pressure. Performance validation of a supersonic ejector system along with an investigation of effects of supersonic diffuser was conducted. Placement of diffuser at the secondary inlet further reduced diffuser upstream pressure to 1/4-1/5 relieving the local to the primary supply unit. In order to increase the secondary flow, we put two ejectors capable of removing 50g/s each of secondary flows together to deal with higher mass flow. Test of the parallel unit demonstrated the secondary flow rate was proportional to the numbers of individual units that were brought together. Additionally, flow calculations with a commercial code were carried out in every case of experiment and compared with results.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.65.3-65.3
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• 2017

With the advent of high energy/power lasers, extreme conditions, such as those found in astrophysical environments, can be reproduced in laboratory. The scaling between laboratory and astrophysical environments, especially for viscosity and resistivity that govern dissipation processes, is not perfect. Yet, the similarity is close enough to make laboratory experiments relevant for astrophysics. The results have been encouraging, in the sense of suggesting the possibility of exploring fundamental physical processes at play in astrophysical phenomena. In this talk, I will review a few successfully performed and ongoing experiments, such as those for turbulence and magnetic field generation in fluid regime and collisionless shock wave in plasma regime.

• Proceedings of the Korean Magnestics Society Conference
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.40-40
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• 2010