NEW LENSES EXPAND USE OF HIGH-POWER LASERS.

General Electric researchers have demonstrated that the intense beam of light from a stationary laser can be channeled through a needle-thin glass fiber to an industrial robot more than 25 yards away, enabling the machine to cut, weld, and drill with a dexterity never before possible. Until now, attempts to transmit high-power laser light through fiber-optic cables have met with only limited success. This is because of the difficulty in feeding the intense laser energy into the small-diameter fibers without damaging their protective cladding. GE's research team met this challenge by devising a proprietary input coupler - an optical assembly that down-sizes the 3/4 inch-dia laser beam to the 1000-micron (0. 04 inch) size of the glass fiber within the cable. At the output end of the cable, a lens assembly focuses the laser energy onto a tiny spot on the workpiece.