CHARACTERISTICS OF A CW AND PSEUDO PULSED YAG LASER OF 1,2 KW

Abstract
The main characteristics of the beam are derived from its quality factor (or the Lagrange-Smith invariant). This parameter has been found to vary from 77 to 266 µm, as a function of the beam power, the source functionning mode (CW or pseudo-pulsed), and its transport modalities (throw an optical fiber or throw lenses and mirrors). The maximum power density delivered varies from 0,2 to 2 Mw/cm². The size of the beam waist after the focalisation system, the depth of the field and the spatio-temporal distribution of the beam energy have also been determined. The knowledge of all these characteristics allows the user to control and reproduce the materials processing by the high power laser beam.