Laser welding

(metallurgy) Micro-spot welding with a laser beam.

Welding with a laser beam. The primary apparatus is the continuous-wave, convectively cooled CO₂ laser with either oscillator/amplifier (gaussian output beam) or unstable resonator (hollows output beam) optics. These lasers, available in output powers ranging from approximately 1000 to 15,000 W, have been used to demonstrate specific welding accomplishments in a variety of metals and alloys. Substantial advances in laser technology made possible the production of fully automated multikilowatt industrial laser systems which can be operated on a continuous production basis. These systems can be used for a variety of development programs and on-line production applications. See also Laser.