IPG Photonics Corporation is the leading developer and manufacturer of a broad
line of high-performance fiber lasers, fiber amplifiers and diode lasers that
are used for diverse applications, primarily in materials processing. Fiber
lasers are a type of laser that combine the advantages of semiconductor diodes,
such as long life and high efficiency, with the high amplification and precise
beam qualities of specialty optical fibers to deliver superior performance,
reliability and usability.
Our diverse lines of low, mid and high power lasers and amplifiers are used
in materials processing, advanced communications and medical applications. We
sell our products globally to original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs"),
system integrators and end users. We market our products internationally primarily
through our direct sales force. Our major manufacturing facilities are located
in the United States, Germany and Russia. We have sales service offices and
applications laboratories worldwide.
We are vertically integrated such that we design and manufacture most of the
key components used in our finished products, from semiconductor diodes to optical
fiber preforms, finished fiber lasers and amplifiers. We also manufacture complementary
products used with our lasers including optical delivery cables, fiber couplers,
beam switches, optical processing heads and chillers. In addition, we offer
laser-based systems for certain markets and applications. Our vertically integrated
operations allow us to reduce manufacturing costs, control quality, rapidly
develop and integrate advanced products and protect our proprietary technology.
We are listed on the Nasdaq Global Market (ticker: IPGP). We began operations
in 1990, and we were incorporated in Delaware in 1998. Our principal executive
offices are located at 50 Old Webster Road, Oxford, Massachusetts 01540, and
our telephone number is (508) 373-1100.
Since the laser was invented over 50 years ago, laser technology has revolutionized
a broad range of applications and products in various industries, including
general manufacturing, automotive, medical, research, consumer products, electronics,
semiconductors and communications. A laser works by converting electrical energy
to optical energy. In a laser, an energy source excites or pumps a lasing medium,
which converts the energy from the source into an emission consisting of particles
of light, called photons, at particular wavelengths. Lasers provide flexible,
non-contact and high-speed ways to process and treat various materials and are
a key enabler of advanced manufacturing techniques including automation and
miniaturization. They are incorporated into manufacturing, medical and other
systems by OEMs, system integrators and end users. Also, they are widely used
for various medical applications and test and measurement systems and to transmit
large volumes of data in optical communications systems. For a wide variety
of applications, lasers provide superior performance and a more cost-effective
solution than non-laser technologies.
Lasers emit an intense light beam that can be focused on a small area, causing
metals and other materials to melt, vaporize or change their character. These
properties are utilized in materials processing applications requiring very
high power densities, such as cutting, welding, marking and engraving, additive
manufacturing, ablation, printing, drilling and cladding. Many different types
of machine tools have been used within the materials processing industry to
cut, form or otherwise process metal in the production of finished goods such
as automobiles, consumer appliances, electronics, and heavy machinery. These
machine tools include (but are not limited to) grinding machines, mechanical
saws, milling machines, lathes, presses, stamping machines, electrical-discharge
machines, plasma, water-jet and lasers. The 2017 World Machine Tool Survey conducted
by Gardner Business Intelligence estimates global machine tool consumption of
$82 billion in 2017. Laser-based systems are increasingly gaining share within
the materials processing market given the greater precision, processing speeds,
and flexibility enabled by this technology. Because laser energy can be delivered
remotely, with greater precision and power, the trends toward automated production,
miniaturization and increasing product complexity are helping drive adoption
of laser technology. Beyond materials processing, lasers are well-suited for
imaging and inspection applications, and the ability to confine laser light
to narrow wavelengths makes them particularly effective in medical and sensing
applications.
Other Laser Technologies
Historically, carbon dioxide ("CO2") gas lasers and crystal lasers
have been the two principal laser types used in materials processing and many
other applications. They are named for the materials used to create the lasing
action. A CO2 laser produces light by electrically stimulating a gas-filled
tube and delivers the beam through free space using mirrors to provide direction.
A crystal laser uses an arc lamp, pulsed flash lamp or diode stack or array
to optically pump a special crystal. The most common crystal lasers use yttrium
aluminum garnet ("YAG") crystals infused with neodymium or ytterbium.
Crystal lasers also use mirrors in free space to deliver the beam or direct
the beam through fiber optics.
Fiber Lasers
Fiber lasers use semiconductor diodes as the light source to pump specialty
optical fibers, which are infused with rare earth ions. These fibers are called
active fibers and are comparable in diameter to a human hair. The laser emission
is created within optical fibers and delivered through a flexible optical fiber
cable. As a result of their different design and components, fiber lasers are
more reliable, efficient, robust, compact and easier to operate than other laser
technologies. In addition, fiber lasers free the end users from fine mechanical
adjustments and the high maintenance costs that are typical for other laser
technologies.
Although low power fiber lasers were introduced four decades ago, their increased
adoption in the last decade has been driven primarily by our improvements in
their output power levels and cost, as well as their superior performance, lower
cost of ownership and greater reliability compared with other laser technologies.
We have successfully increased output power levels by developing improved optical
components such as diodes and active fibers that have increased their power
capacities and improved their performance. Fiber lasers now offer output powers
that exceed those of other laser technologies in many categories. Also, semiconductor
diodes historically have represented the majority of the cost of fiber lasers.
In the past, the high cost of diodes meant that fiber lasers could not compete
with other laser technologies on price and limited their use to high value-added
applications. Over the last twenty years, however, our semiconductor diodes
have become more affordable and reliable due, in part, to substantial advancements
in semiconductor diode technology, packaging design and increased production
volumes. As a result, the average cost per watt of output power has decreased
dramatically over the last fifteen years. Because of these improvements, our
fiber lasers can now effectively compete with other laser technologies over
a wide range of output powers and applications, and begin to compete with non-laser
technologies in many applications that that did not use lasers historically.
As a pioneer in the development and commercialization of fiber lasers, we have
contributed to many advancements in fiber laser technology and products.
Advantages of Fiber Lasers
We believe that fiber lasers provide a combination of benefits that include:
Superior Performance. Fiber lasers provide uniform beam quality over the entire
power range. In most other laser solutions, the beam quality is sensitive to
output power, while in fiber lasers, the output beam is virtually non-divergent
over a wide power range. A non-divergent beam enables higher levels of precision,
increased power densities and the ability to deliver the beam over greater distances
to where processing can be completed. The superior beam quality and greater
intensity of a fiber lasers beam allow tasks to be accomplished more rapidly,
with lower power units and with greater flexibility than comparable lasers.
Enhanced End User Productivity. The near-infrared ("IR") wavelengths
produced by ytterbium fiber lasers are absorbed well by metals, enabling faster
processing speeds than other lasers and non-laser technologies across many metal-based
materials processing applications. Because IPG fiber lasers utilize rigorously-tested
long-lived semiconductor diodes, unique active fibers to prevent photo darkening
and other leading-edge, proprietary technologies, our fiber lasers have demonstrated
greater uptime and reliability in the field, with less required maintenance
and fewer service interventions than many competing technologies.
Cost of Ownership. Fiber lasers are less expensive to operate due to their faster
processing speeds, higher energy efficiency and lower required maintenance costs.
Fiber lasers convert electrical energy to optical energy approximately 2 to
3 times more efficiently than diode-pumped YAG lasers or disc lasers, approximately
3 to 4 times more efficiently than conventional CO2 lasers and approximately
15 to 30 times more efficiently than lamp-pumped YAG lasers. Because fiber lasers
are much more energy-efficient and place lower levels of thermal stress on their
internal components, they have substantially lower cooling requirements compared
to those of other lasers, which also improves overall energy efficiency. Fiber
lasers have lower maintenance costs due to the high performance and long life
of our single-emitter diodes, fiber optics and other optical components.
Ease of Use. Numerous features of fiber lasers make them easier to operate,
maintain and integrate into laser-based systems as compared to other lasers,
many of which require mirrors to direct the beam. There are no moving parts
in fiber lasers and the beam is contained in a flexible fiber optic cable so
they do not require adjustments of internal components or mirrors to direct
the beam.
Compact Size. Fiber lasers are typically smaller and lighter in weight than
other lasers, saving valuable floor space. While other laser technologies are
delicate due to the precise alignment of mirrors, fiber lasers are more durable
and able to perform in variable environments.
Choice of Wavelengths and Precise Control of Beam. The design of fiber lasers
generally provides a broad range of wavelength choices, allowing users to select
the precise wavelength that best matches their application and materials. As
the beam is delivered through a flexible fiber optic cable, it can be directed
to the work area over longer distances without loss of beam quality.
Fiber amplifiers are similar in design to fiber lasers, use many of the same
components, such as semiconductor diodes and specialty optical fibers, and provide
many of the same advantages in the applications that require amplification.
Notwithstanding the benefits offered by fiber lasers, there remain applications
and processes where other laser technologies may provide superior performance
with respect to particular features. For example, crystal lasers can provide
higher peak power pulses necessary in certain applications and fiber lasers
cannot now generate the deep ("UV") light that is used for photolithography
in many semiconductor applications. In addition, CO2 lasers operate at wavelengths
that are optimal for use on many non-metallic materials, including organic materials
like wood.