Abstract: A method for forming an article includes providing a material having a first material property; forming a melt pool by exposing the material to an optical beam having at least one beam characteristic, wherein the melt pool has at least one melt pool property determinative of a second material property of the material; and modifying the at least one beam characteristic in response to a change in the melt pool property.

Abstract: A method for forming an article includes: forming a melt pool; exposing the melt pool to an optical beam having at least one beam characteristic; forming a keyhole cavity in the melt pool, the keyhole cavity having at least one keyhole cavity property; and modifying the at least one beam characteristic in response to a change in the keyhole cavity property.

Abstract: A method of tailoring beam characteristics of a laser beam during fabrication of an electronic device. The method includes: providing a substrate comprising one or more layers; adjusting one or more characteristics of a laser beam; and impinging the laser beam having the adjusted beam characteristics on the substrate to carry out at least one process step for fabricating the electronic device. The adjusting of the laser beam comprises: perturbing the laser beam propagating within a first length of fiber to adjust the one or more beam characteristics of the laser beam in the first length of fiber or a second length of fiber or a combination thereof, the second length of fiber having two or more confinement regions; coupling the perturbed laser beam into the second length of fiber; and emitting the laser beam having the adjusted beam characteristics from the second length of fiber.

Abstract: A method for forming an article includes providing a material having a first material property; forming a melt pool by exposing the material to an optical beam having at least one beam characteristic, wherein the melt pool has at least one melt pool property determinative of a second material property of the material; and modifying the at least one beam characteristic in response to a change in the melt pool property.

Abstract: An optical apparatus includes one or more pump sources situated to provide laser pump light, and a gain fiber optically coupled to the one or more pump sources, the gain fiber including an actively doped core situated to produce an output beam, an inner cladding and outer cladding surrounding the doped core and situated to propagate pump light, and a polymer cladding surrounding the outer cladding and situated to guide a selected portion of the pump light coupled into the inner and outer claddings of the gain fiber. Methods of pumping a fiber sources include generating pump light from one or more pump sources, coupling the pump light into a glass inner cladding and a glass outer cladding of a gain fiber of the fiber source such that a portion of the pump light is guided by a polymer cladding surrounding the glass outer cladding, and generating a single-mode output beam from the gain fiber.

Abstract: A system includes an optical fiber situated to propagate a laser beam received from a laser source to an output of the optical fiber, a first cladding light stripper optically coupled to the optical fiber and situated to extract at least a portion of forward-propagating cladding light in the optical fiber, and a second cladding light stripper optically coupled to the optical fiber between the first cladding light stripper and the optical fiber output and situated to extract at least a portion of backward-propagating cladding light in the optical fiber.

Abstract: An optical apparatus includes one or more pump sources situated to provide laser pump light, and a gain fiber optically coupled to the one or more pump sources, the gain fiber including an actively doped core situated to produce an output beam, an inner cladding and outer cladding surrounding the doped core and situated to propagate pump light, and a polymer cladding surrounding the outer cladding and situated to guide a selected portion of the pump light coupled into the inner and outer claddings of the gain fiber. Methods of pumping a fiber sources include generating pump light from one or more pump sources, coupling the pump light into a glass inner cladding and a glass outer cladding of a gain fiber of the fiber source such that a portion of the pump light is guided by a polymer cladding surrounding the glass outer cladding, and generating a single-mode output beam from the gain fiber.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods, apparatus, and systems for perturbing an optical beam propagating within a first length of fiber to adjust one or more beam characteristics of the optical beam in the first length of fiber or a second length of fiber or a combination thereof, coupling the perturbed optical beam into a second length of fiber and maintaining at least a portion of one or more adjusted beam characteristics within a second length of fiber having.

Abstract: A method of spectrally multiplexing diode pump modules to increase brightness includes generating one or more pump beams from respective diode lasers at a first wavelength in a diode laser package, generating one or more pump beams from respective diode lasers at a second wavelength different from the first wavelength in the diode laser package, wavelength combining at least one of the pump beams at the first wavelength with at least one of the pump beams at the second wavelength to form one or more combined pump beams, and receiving the combined pump beams in a pump fiber coupled to the diode laser package. Laser systems can include multi-wavelength pump modules and a gain fiber having a core actively doped so as to have an absorption spectrum corresponding to the multiple wavelength, the gain fiber situated to receive the pump light and to produce an output beam at an output wavelength.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods, apparatus, and systems for providing an optical beam delivery system, comprising an optical fiber including a first length of fiber comprising a first RIP formed to enable, at least in part, modification of one or more beam characteristics of an optical beam by a perturbation assembly arranged to modify the one or more beam characteristics, the perturbation assembly coupled to the first length of fiber or integral with the first length of fiber, or a combination thereof and a second length of fiber coupled to the first length of fiber and having a second RIP formed to preserve at least a portion of the one or more beam characteristics of the optical beam modified by the perturbation assembly within one or more first confinement regions.

Abstract: A method of spectrally multiplexing diode pump modules to increase brightness includes generating one or more pump beams from respective diode lasers at a first wavelength in a diode laser package, generating one or more pump beams from respective diode lasers at a second wavelength different from the first wavelength in the diode laser package, wavelength combining at least one of the pump beams at the first wavelength with at least one of the pump beams at the second wavelength to form one or more combined pump beams, and receiving the combined pump beams in a pump fiber coupled to the diode laser package. Laser systems can include multi-wavelength pump modules and a gain fiber having a core actively doped so as to have an absorption spectrum corresponding to the multiple wavelength, the gain fiber situated to receive the pump light and to produce an output beam at an output wavelength.

Abstract: A fiber connector, comprising a housing comprising a region extending in a lengthwise direction an optical fiber disposed in the region, a first portion of the optical fiber comprising an inner core, a cladding layer surrounding the core, and a first outer polymer layer surrounding the cladding layer and a second portion of the optical fiber comprising the inner core, the cladding layer surrounding the core and a second outer polymer layer that is different from the first polymer layer.

Abstract: A system includes an optical fiber situated to propagate a laser beam received from a laser source to an output of the optical fiber, a first cladding light stripper optically coupled to the optical fiber and situated to extract at least a portion of forward-propagating cladding light in the optical fiber, and a second cladding light stripper optically coupled to the optical fiber between the first cladding light stripper and the optical fiber output and situated to extract at least a portion of backward-propagating cladding light in the optical fiber.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods, apparatus, and systems for providing an optical beam delivery system, comprising an optical fiber including a first length of fiber comprising a first RIP formed to enable, at least in part, modification of one or more beam characteristics of an optical beam by a perturbation assembly arranged to modify the one or more beam characteristics, the perturbation assembly coupled to the first length of fiber or integral with the first length of fiber, or a combination thereof and a second length of fiber coupled to the first length of fiber and having a second RIP formed to preserve at least a portion of the one or more beam characteristics of the optical beam modified by the perturbation assembly within one or more first confinement regions.

Abstract: A fiber connector, comprising a housing comprising a region extending in a lengthwise direction an optical fiber disposed in the region, a first portion of the optical fiber comprising an inner core, a cladding layer surrounding the core, and a first outer polymer layer surrounding the cladding layer and a second portion of the optical fiber comprising the inner core, the cladding layer surrounding the core and a second outer polymer layer that is different from the first polymer layer.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a plurality of input fibers including one or more signal fibers and one or more beam dump fibers, a signal combiner having an input end coupled to the plurality of input fibers so as to couple portions of one or more signal beams respectively propagating in one or more of the signal fibers to form a combiner beam, an output fiber coupled to an output end of the signal combiner so as to receive the combiner beam, and a beam dump coupled to at least one of the one or more beam dump fibers so as to receive a light beam propagating from the output fiber that is associated with the combiner beam.

Abstract: A method of spectrally multiplexing diode pump modules to increase brightness includes generating one or more pump beams from respective diode lasers at a first wavelength in a diode laser package, generating one or more pump beams from respective diode lasers at a second wavelength different from the first wavelength in the diode laser package, wavelength combining at least one of the pump beams at the first wavelength with at least one of the pump beams at the second wavelength to form one or more combined pump beams, and receiving the combined pump beams in a pump fiber coupled to the diode laser package. Laser systems can include multi-wavelength pump modules and a gain fiber having a core actively doped so as to have an absorption spectrum corresponding to the multiple wavelength, the gain fiber situated to receive the pump light and to produce an output beam at an output wavelength.

Abstract: An apparatus includes an optical gain fiber having a core, a cladding surrounding the core, the core and cladding defining an optical gain fiber numerical aperture, and a multimode fiber having a core with a larger radius than a radius of the optical gain fiber core, a cladding surrounding the core, the core and cladding of the multimode fiber defining a multimode fiber stable numerical aperture that is larger than the optical gain fiber numerical aperture, the multimode fiber being optically coupled to the optical gain fiber so as to receive an optical beam propagating in the optical gain fiber and to stably propagate the received optical beam in the multimode fiber core with low optical loss associated with the optical coupling.

Abstract: Methods, apparatus, and systems comprising a fiber-coupled laser and time-varying beam characteristics. A laser may generate an optical beam that is launched into one or more lengths of fiber, at least one of which comprises a confinement region that is optically coupled to an output. A perturbation device may modulate, through action upon the one or more lengths of fiber, a beam characteristic over a time period during which the laser is energized. A controller may cause the perturbation device to act upon the one or more lengths of fiber to impart a time-averaged beam characteristic and/or to induce a continuous variation in one or more beam characteristics during system use. A process monitor may sense a metric external to the optical system, and a feedback signal from the process monitor may be coupled into the controller. Dynamic beam characteristics may be modulated based on the feedback signal.

Abstract: A method of tailoring beam characteristics of a laser beam during fabrication of an electronic device. The method includes: providing a substrate comprising one or more layers; adjusting one or more characteristics of a laser beam; and impinging the laser beam having the adjusted beam characteristics on the substrate to carry out at least one process step for fabricating the electronic device. The adjusting of the laser beam comprises: perturbing the laser beam propagating within a first length of fiber to adjust the one or more beam characteristics of the laser beam in the first length of fiber or a second length of fiber or a combination thereof, the second length of fiber having two or more confinement regions; coupling the perturbed laser beam into the second length of fiber; and emitting the laser beam having the adjusted beam characteristics from the second length of fiber.