Fibre optic specialist AFL has developed and manufactured the LZM‑100 Lazermaster, in conjunction with Fujikura Japan.
It uses a CO2 laser heat source to perform splicing, adiabatic tapering and other glass-shaping operations. The LZM possesses large diameter capabilities up to 2.3mm and long tapering capabilities up to 150mm. The LZM-100 utilizes proprietary closed-loop power stabilisation techniques, resulting in power stability within 0.5 per cent, enabling highly repeatable processes and very smooth taper profiles. In addition, by using the carbon dioxide heat source, repeatable performance is ensured and electrode/filament maintenance and instability is eliminated. The clean, deposit-free fibre surface and consistent results is essential in high power fibre lasers and power delivery systems.