Line Laser Technology and Applications in Advanced Manufacturing

Line laser is becoming a popular “Tool” for many applications in industry. What is the line laser, what are the main components in a line laser system, what are the key technologies involved, why to use a line, what are their typical applications, how to choose a proper line system? All of the above questions will be answered in this paper in details. The high power line laser system synergizes the technologies in laser sources, micro-optics and beam shaping techniques. Firstly, an overview of different photon generators as laser sources will be briefly introduced. Then the key photon control units i.e., the micro-optics elements are presented. These optics are small but crucial to control the photons to the right place at the right time. After that, the major beam shaping methodologies, system scaling concepts and design examples are systematically summarized and discussed.