JP2000307181A - Solid state laser device and laser processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] The maximum output is limited by the length of a solid-state element that can be obtained industrially stably, and the longer the solid-state element is used,
There was a problem that the output could not be increased without lowering the beam quality. A solid-state laser device capable of arbitrarily increasing a laser output without deteriorating oscillation efficiency and further deteriorating beam quality. The excitation block includes a plurality of solid-state laser modules each including an excitation block including a semiconductor laser and a condenser, and a solid-state element disposed in the condenser and serving as an active medium excited by the semiconductor laser. The solid-state laser modules were arranged such that the centers of the solid-state lasers were substantially equally spaced along the optical axis of the solid-state laser light.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention has a high directivity,
The present invention relates to an apparatus for generating a high-output laser beam having a large output.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are a side view and a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional solid-state laser device described in JP-A-259540;
Reference numeral 1 denotes a total reflection mirror formed by disposing a dielectric multilayer film on a substrate made of, for example, quartz. Reference numeral 2 denotes a partial reflection mirror, which is also formed by disposing a dielectric multilayer film on a substrate made of, for example, quartz, and has a reflectance of about 50%. Reference numeral 3 denotes a semiconductor laser.
aAlAs as main component, output at wavelength 808nm
It is provided with a semiconductor laser chip 30 that generates about 00W. Reference numeral 4 denotes a light collector having a diffuse reflection inner surface, which is made of, for example, ceramic or white resin. Numeral 5 is a solid-state element, taking a YAG laser as an example, a YAG (Yttrium Aluminum) doped with Nd or Yb.
m Garnet), that is, Nd: YAG or Yb: Y
AG. Reference numeral 6 denotes a laser beam generated in the laser resonator constituted by the mirrors 1 and 2, and reference numeral 7 denotes a laser beam extracted to the outside by the partial reflection mirror 2. 31
Is an opening provided in the light collector 4. Reference numeral 8 denotes a flow tube arranged so as to cover the solid state element 5.
A coolant for cooling the solid state element flows inside.

Next, the operation will be described. The semiconductor laser chip 30 placed on the semiconductor laser base 35 and cooled by the base generates a laser output of about 200 W at about 800 to 900 nm. This laser output has poor directivity, that is, has a characteristic that it spreads greatly over a short distance. For this reason, it is difficult to collect light with a lens or the like as it is, and the light cannot be collected and used for laser processing or the like.

The light emitted from the semiconductor laser chip 30 is guided into the light collector through an opening 31 arranged near the semiconductor laser chip 30 and the flow tube 8
, The solid-state element 5 is excited. In one pass through the solid state device, approximately 50% of the light is absorbed by the solid state device. 50% remaining through solid-state element without being absorbed by solid-state element
Is diffusely reflected in the light collector, and again excites the solid-state device. Thus, the semiconductor laser chip 30
The light emitted from the solid-state device 5 excites the solid-state element 5 while repeating reflection a plurality of times in the light collector, and this is used as a laser medium.

The light emitted from the solid-state device 5 serving as a laser medium is confined in a resonator composed of the reflection mirrors 1 and 2 and is amplified by the excited solid-state device every time the laser beam reciprocates between the two reflection mirrors. Then, the output is improved and the directivity is adjusted, so that the laser beam 6 is obtained. When this laser beam reaches a certain size or larger, it is extracted from the partial reflection mirror 2 as a laser beam 7 to the outside.

[0006]

The conventional solid-state laser device is configured as described above, but it is necessary to use a long solid-state element in order to increase the output. Further, a technique for using a plurality of solid-state elements has not been established.
This will be described in detail below.

[0007] Of the semiconductor laser light absorbed by the solid state device, about 30% is absorbed as heat by the solid state device. Due to the absorbed heat, the solid state element is thermally deformed, and in a severe case, it may be broken. The index of the destruction limit is represented by irradiation power per length. In the case of a Nd-doped YAG solid-state device, it is said that destruction occurs when the power exceeds approximately 200 W per cm. For this purpose, for example, four 400 W semiconductor lasers,
In the example of FIG. 18 using a total of 1600 W of semiconductor laser output, the length of the solid-state device was required to be 8 cm or more. The laser output in this case is about 640 W. Taking a YAG solid-state element as an example, the length that can be manufactured industrially stably is about 250 mm, so that it is about three times as large as 640 W,
That is, there is a problem that only an output of about 1920 W can be obtained.

Further, due to the lens action of the thermally deformed solid element, the beam shape in the solid element becomes as shown in FIG. 20, and the laser beam does not pass through the end of the solid element, that is, the dead zone 50 where the laser beam cannot be extracted. Occurs, which causes a decrease in efficiency. However, when a long solid-state element is used, there is a problem that the dead zone increases sharply and the oscillation efficiency is significantly reduced. The problem is that the reflection mirror 1,
This can be realized by shortening the distance between the two, but in this case, there is a problem that the light-collecting property of the laser beam is deteriorated.

To summarize the problems of the conventional solid-state laser device described above, the maximum output is limited by the length of the solid-state element which can be obtained in an industrially stable manner. Unless the quality is reduced, the output cannot be increased. Furthermore, when a plurality of solid-state elements are used, a technique for increasing the output without lowering the beam quality has not been established. Of course, a method of increasing the output by using a plurality of solid-state elements in a lamp-pumped solid-state laser is well known, but in this case, the beam quality is extremely poor and the efficiency is low, so a large power input is required. There was a decisive problem of doing so.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and without deteriorating the oscillation efficiency.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a solid-state laser device that operates stably even if the laser output is arbitrarily increased without impairing the beam quality.

[0011]

Means for Solving the Problems Claim 1 according to the present invention.
The solid-state laser device described in (1) comprises a solid-state element including an active medium, and an excitation block configured to irradiate excitation light from a semiconductor laser for exciting the solid-state element from around the solid-state element. A plurality of solid-state laser modules are provided, and the solid-state laser modules are arranged so that the centers of the excitation blocks are substantially equally spaced along the optical axis of the solid-state laser beam.

In the solid-state laser device according to a second aspect of the present invention, the distance between the solid-state elements is set to 500 (cm) / √M ^2.
It is as follows.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state laser device, the diameter of the solid-state element is 0.1 (cm) × √M ^2.
It is as follows.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state laser device, the excitation density per unit length is set to 100 W / cm.
That's it

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state laser device, the diameter of the solid-state element is set to 5.5 mm or less.

In the solid-state laser device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the solid-state element has a Yttrium Aluminum.
m Garnet (YAG) and the beam quality is M ²
<100

In a solid state laser device according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, at least two of the plurality of solid state laser modules are disposed between the laser optical systems, and at least one of the solid state laser modules is disposed. In the arrangement outside the laser optical system, the solid-state laser modules are arranged such that the centers of the excitation blocks are optically at substantially equal intervals along the optical axis of the solid-state laser beam.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a solid-state laser device comprising: a plurality of solid-state laser modules; a laser optical system for extracting laser light from a solid-state element; a power supply for driving a plurality of semiconductor lasers; Control means for controlling the time at which energization of a plurality of semiconductor lasers is started.

A solid-state laser device according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is the solid-state laser device according to the eighth aspect, wherein a time lag in starting to energize the plurality of semiconductor lasers from a power supply is set to 1 millisecond or less. It is.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the solid state laser device of the eighth aspect, at least two of the solid state laser modules are arranged between the laser optical systems, and at least one of the solid state laser modules is disposed. The solid-state laser module is disposed outside the laser optical system.

In the solid-state laser device according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state laser device according to the tenth aspect, the order in which power is supplied from the power supply to the plurality of semiconductor lasers is arranged between the laser optical systems. From the semiconductor laser included in the solid-state laser module to the semiconductor laser included in the solid-state laser module disposed outside the laser optical system,
The time for starting the energization of the semiconductor laser is controlled so as to be in the following order.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state laser device, the plurality of solid-state laser modules disposed between the laser optical systems are provided with a plurality of semiconductor lasers arranged side by side in the optical axis direction. The centers of the blocks are arranged so as to be substantially equally spaced along the optical axis of the solid-state laser beam. Is controlled so that the heat input to the solid state element is substantially symmetric with respect to the center of the row of the excitation blocks.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state laser device, two solid-state laser modules are arranged between the laser optical systems, and each of the two solid-state laser modules is arranged in the optical axis direction with a respective one. The semiconductor lasers are arranged side by side, and the control means sets the order in which the four semiconductor lasers are started to be energized, after the semiconductor laser that is first energized, the solid-state laser module of the semiconductor laser that is first energized. The semiconductor laser at a position symmetrical with respect to the center of the row is energized, and then the other semiconductor laser of the same solid-state laser module as the second energized semiconductor laser is energized, and then energized first. The control is performed so that the energization is started to the other semiconductor laser of the same solid-state laser module as the started semiconductor laser.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state laser device, the excitation block has a semiconductor laser and an opening having an inner surface formed in a diffuse reflection shape and for introducing light from the semiconductor laser into the inside. And a condenser.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a solid-state laser device, comprising: a semiconductor laser; an opening having an inner surface formed in a diffuse reflection shape, for introducing light from the semiconductor laser into the inside; A concentrator having means, a solid-state device disposed in the concentrator and including an active medium excited by light of the semiconductor laser, and a laser optical system for extracting laser light from the excited solid-state device. It is provided with.

[0026] A solid state laser device according to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention is provided with an optical element for transmitting light of a semiconductor laser in an opening of a light collector.

[0027] A solid-state laser device according to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention includes a condenser provided with a cooling medium passage.

In the solid-state laser device according to the present invention, a cylindrical flow tube is provided so as to surround a solid-state element, a cooling medium flows through the flow tube, and a cross section of the inner surface of the condenser is provided. The shape is circular, and the gap between the outer surface of the flow tube and the inner surface of the condenser is 0.2 m.
m, part of the heat of the light collector is transmitted to the cooling medium.

In the solid-state laser device according to the nineteenth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of solid-state laser modules are arranged in series so that the axes of the solid-state elements substantially coincide with each other. A total reflection mirror is arranged on one side, and laser light is extracted from an end face of a solid-state element located at an end opposite to the total reflection mirror in a row of the solid-state laser modules.

According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the above-described solid-state laser devices, the output is 1 kW or more.

A laser processing apparatus according to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention includes any one of the solid-state laser devices described above.

[0032]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view. 1 and 2, 1 is a total reflection mirror, 2 is a partial reflection mirror, and 3 is a semiconductor laser.
For example, a semiconductor laser chip 30 generating an output of about 200 W is mounted. Reference numeral 4 denotes a condenser having a diffuse reflection shape on the inner surface, which is made of, for example, white ceramic or resin, and has an opening 31 for introducing laser light from the semiconductor laser chip 30 into the concentrator. Reference numeral 5 denotes a solid state element, for example, Nd: YAG. Reference numeral 6 denotes a laser beam generated in a laser resonator constituted by mirrors 1 and 2 serving as a laser optical system, and 7 denotes a laser beam extracted by the partial reflection mirror 2 to the outside. Reference numeral 8 denotes a flow tube arranged so as to cover the solid-state element 5, through which a coolant such as water for cooling the solid-state element flows. 100 is a base. here,
Four solid-state laser modules 55, each of which is an aggregate of an excitation block 50 composed of a semiconductor laser 3 and a concentrator 4, and one solid-state element 5, are arranged on the base 100 at an interval between the centers of the excitation blocks. L are arranged at equal intervals.
Here, the center of the excitation block means the center of gravity of the semiconductor laser excitation light distribution spreading in the axial direction of the solid-state element 5. The high excitation density is set so that the excitation density becomes 100 W / cm or more.

Here, since the centers of the excitation blocks are arranged at equal intervals, the solid-state laser module is designed to increase the output without lowering the efficiency by considering the behavior of the beam between the solid-state elements. The design becomes easier when increasing the number of. When a plurality of solid-state elements are used, it is necessary to finely adjust the direction of each solid-state element. This is easier as the distance D between the solid-state elements shown in FIG. Can be done. However, when the distance between the solid-state elements is short, it is difficult to improve the beam quality.

Here, an M ² value generally used as an index value of the beam quality is used. FIG. 3 shows the distance D between the solid-state elements generating M ² = 40 calculated as a function of the diameter of the rod, taking the case of using an Nd: YAG rod as an example of the solid-state element. In the case of a 0.4 cm diameter rod, the distance between the solid elements is 18 cm or more, but as the diameter of the rod increases, the required distance between the solid elements increases. That's all. Since a laser output of 640 W can be obtained per solid element, for example, to obtain an output of 2 kW or more, it is necessary to use four or more solid elements, and when a rod having a diameter of 0.8 cm is used, And the distance between the resonator mirrors is 32
It became 8 cm or more.

When the distance between the solid-state elements is increased, there is a problem that the beam is diffused between the solid-state elements and the efficiency is reduced. For this reason, when the distance between the solid-state elements exceeds 75 cm, the fluctuation of the laser output sharply increases, and it has been difficult to realize a stable operation. For this reason, when generating a beam of M ² = 40 or less, it was necessary to use a solid-state element having a diameter of 0.8 cm or less.

In industrial applications, a slightly lower quality beam of about M ² = 100 may be practical. In this case, the distance between the solid devices with respect to the diameter of the solid devices was also as shown in FIG. In this case, since the beam quality was poor, the divergence of the beam was further strong, and stable oscillation was difficult unless the distance between the solid-state elements was set to approximately 50 cm or less.

From this, it has been found that when the distance between the solid-state elements satisfies the following equation, almost efficient stable oscillation is possible. Distance between solid elements <500 (cm) / √M ² (1) However, in order to make the same beam quality, that is, the same M ² , at the distance between solid elements that satisfies this condition, as shown in FIG. The shorter the distance between the solid-state elements, the smaller the diameter of the solid-state elements.

Further, considering the vibration of the solid-state elements, the distance between the solid-state elements is approximately 40c regardless of the beam quality.
m or less. Referring to FIG. 3, M ² =
At 40, the diameter of the solid element is 0.55 cm or less, and M ² = 60.
Must be 0.7 cm or less when M ² = 100. From this, the following equation was derived as an approximate equation for the diameter of the solid state device. Diameter of solid device <0.1 (cm) × ΔM ² (2)

That is, in order to obtain a high-quality laser beam of M ² = 40 or less when the distance between the solid-state elements is 40 cm or less, the diameter of the solid-state element may be 5.5 mm or less.
In order to achieve a more compact configuration, the diameter of the solid element may be set to 5 mm or less, more preferably 4.5 mm or less. Further, when the diameter of the solid element becomes small, the thermal lens value becomes large, and the resonator design becomes difficult. Therefore, in order to obtain a high excitation density such that the excitation density becomes 100 W / cm or more, the diameter of the solid element becomes large. Is about 0.5 mm or more,
Preferably, it is necessary to be 1 mm or more.

Next, in order to confirm the effect of the arrangement of a plurality of solid state elements in the present invention in which the solid state elements are excited in a concentrator having a diffuse reflection inner surface, the solid state elements are used in a commercially available solid state laser. In the following, the results of a case where the light source is a lamp or a semiconductor laser and the concentrator is formed of a metal reflector will be described.

In this case, in the case of lamp excitation, the light has many temporal fluctuations, and even if a semiconductor laser is used as the light source, the solid state element cannot be uniformly excited because the condenser is formed of a metal reflector. Therefore, the solid-state element worked as an optical system having aberration. For this reason, when one solid-state element was used, a stable output was obtained. However, when an attempt was made to increase the output and obtain an output of 1 kW or more using a plurality of solid-state elements, Unless the beam quality was set to M ² > 100, stable operation was not achieved. That is, equations (1) and (2)
Is a case of using a diffuse reflection condenser that can uniformly excite, and a semiconductor laser excitation that causes less temporal fluctuation of light and less heat generation of a solid-state device.
It was found to be particularly effective when ² <100.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 4 is a lateral side view showing Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In the first embodiment, an example is described in which only one semiconductor laser 3 is arranged in the excitation block 50 in the axial direction of the solid-state element 5. However, when the output of one semiconductor laser 3 is rather small such as several tens of watts, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
May be arranged in the axial direction of the solid-state element 5. In this case, the center of the excitation block is defined by the center of gravity of the excitation light distribution in the axial direction of the solid-state element in the excitation light emitted from the plurality of semiconductor lasers arranged side by side.

Embodiment 3 Usually, of the laser output emitted from the semiconductor laser, most of the laser output is absorbed by the solid state device, so the temperature of the concentrator does not rise extremely, for example, using a very thin solid state device, When using a collector with a large inner diameter to make the excitation distribution uniform,
Some tens of percent of the output from the semiconductor laser may be absorbed by the collector. Further, even when the output of the semiconductor laser is large, the amount of heat absorbed by the light collector increases. In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a cooling medium passage 40 is arranged in the light collector 4, and for example, water is flowed through the cooling medium passage 40 to cool the light collector 4 and increase the temperature of the light collector. prevent.

Embodiment 4 FIG. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing Embodiment 4 of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a configuration in which the condenser is provided with a cooling medium passage to cool the condenser is shown. However, as shown in FIG. 6, the condenser is made of a metal such as aluminum or stainless steel. Alternatively, the cooling plate 41 may be pressed against the light collector to cool the light collector.

Embodiment 5 FIG. Furthermore, in order to waste heat on the surface of the light collector, as shown in FIG. 7, the distance between the flow tube and the light collector is narrowed, preferably, 0.2 mm or less. The influence of the heat insulation by the air layer between the flow tube and the flow tube is reduced, and the heat of the light collector surface can be wasted to the rod cooling water in the flow tube.

In order to realize the present embodiment, it is necessary to precisely adjust the distance between the surface of the light collector and the flow tube in a region irradiated with the excitation light 31 by the LD.
Usually, since the flow tube 8 is supported by an O-ring or the like for sealing the cooling water, it is difficult to accurately position the flow tube 8. Therefore, for example, the shape of the flow tube is made into a shape having steps at both ends as shown in FIG.
By making contact with the inner surface of the light collector in step 1, the positional relationship between the two can be mechanically reproduced, so that the gap between the flow tube portion 82 and the inner surface of the light collector can be controlled.

Since the solid-state element excited by the light of the semiconductor laser acts as a lens, the emission direction of the laser beam passing therethrough varies greatly due to the displacement of the solid-state element. As in Embodiments 3 to 5 described above, by cooling the concentrator, which is a component around the solid-state device, it is possible to prevent the position shift of the solid-state device due to its thermal deformation. The displacement of the oscillation axis and the occurrence of oscillation instability can be prevented, and more stable oscillation can be realized.

The effect of condenser cooling described above can be exerted even with a single solid-state element. However, when a plurality of solid-state elements are provided, the position accuracy of each solid-state element is particularly low. As a result, the effect of the present invention is increased. Further, if two or all of the third to fifth embodiments are used together, it goes without saying that the cooling effect is further improved.

Embodiment 6 FIG. FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing Embodiment 6 of the present invention. In FIG. 9, for example, a YAG (Yttrium) doped with sapphire or an active medium inserted into the opening of the condensing light is emitted from a semiconductor laser.
The light is transmitted by an optical element 32 formed of a thin glass plate made of aluminum garnet (Aluminum Garnet) or glass. The light of the semiconductor laser is transmitted while being totally reflected on the upper and lower surfaces of the thin plate. The transmission efficiency obtained experimentally was 97% or more. With the arrangement of the optical element, loss at the opening is reduced, and more efficient operation can be performed.

When the reflected light is incident on the semiconductor laser, the oscillation of the semiconductor laser may become unstable or the wavelength may fluctuate in a severe case. The degree of the reflected light from the light collector is not always uniform due to the accuracy of installation of the opening, so that the influence is unbalanced, and the output of each semiconductor laser is unbalanced. In some cases, the excitation distribution in the solid-state device may have a bias in the cross section. This deviation is equivalent to the occurrence of displacement of a plurality of solid-state elements, which may cause a decrease or fluctuation in output.

Since the optical element in this embodiment utilizes total reflection, it does not transmit light having a certain angle of incidence or more. For this reason, most of the light diverged from a semiconductor laser having an emission angle of about 40 degrees at a half angle passes through the optical element. However, the light reflected from the light collector has an emission angle of 180 degrees and hardly passes through the optical element. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the incidence of reflected light from the light collector on the semiconductor laser. The influence of the reflected light can be reduced, and a plurality of solid state elements can be stably arranged.

Embodiment 7 FIG. FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing Embodiment 7 of the present invention. In the seventh embodiment, wedge-shaped glass 33 having tapered upper and lower surfaces is used as an optical element. In this case, it is possible to increase the excitation density per unit length by using a semiconductor laser chip 330 having a large light emitting area and a large output per unit such as a two-dimensional array. Can be. This not only makes the device inexpensive, but also reduces the dead zone 50 described with reference to FIG. 20 in the conventional operation example, thereby enabling efficient laser oscillation.

Embodiment 8 FIG. As in the sixth embodiment, a thin glass plate is used as an optical element. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, light from a semiconductor laser is condensed by a lens 34 and transmitted by the thin glass plate 32. Is also good.
Also in this case, similarly to the embodiment of FIG. 10, it becomes possible to increase the excitation density per unit length by using a semiconductor laser having a large light emitting surface, so that a shorter solid-state element can be used. This not only makes the device inexpensive, but also reduces the dead zone 50 described with reference to FIG. 20 in the conventional operation example, thereby enabling efficient laser oscillation.

Embodiment 9 FIG. In each of the above embodiments, an embodiment has been described in which a laser beam is extracted from a solid state element excited by a laser resonator. However, an excited solid state element may be used as an amplifier. FIG. 12 shows a ninth embodiment. The laser beam 7 from the oscillator composed of the plurality of solid-state laser modules 55 and the total reflection mirror 1 and the partial reflection mirror 2 shown in FIG. The configuration is such that the light enters the row of the laser module 55 and is amplified. In the ninth embodiment, a laser beam 7
Is folded by two folding mirrors 20, but all the solid-state laser modules 55 may be arranged on a straight line without using the folding mirror 20. In such an amplifier configuration, the fluctuation of the oscillation optical axis due to the displacement of the solid-state element can be reduced as compared with the case where the resonator configuration is adopted. However, in order to extract a sufficient output from the solid-state device with the amplifier configuration, it is necessary that a laser output to be incident on the solid-state device has a certain magnitude or more. For example, when a solid-state element having a diameter of 6 mm is used, if the laser output from the oscillator is about 2 kW, the output can be sufficiently extracted from the amplifier. Therefore, even if four solid-state elements are used as an oscillator and four solid-state elements are used as an amplifier, or eight solid-state elements are used as an oscillator, almost the same output can be obtained, and the amplifier configuration can operate more stably. If a solid-state element with a smaller diameter is used, the output of the oscillator may be small, and two solid-state elements may be used.
That is, an oscillator may be configured by two solid-state laser modules and then input to an amplifier.

Embodiment 10 FIG. FIG. 13 shows a solid-state laser device according to Embodiment 10 of the present invention. In FIG. 13, two solid-state laser modules 55 are arranged in the oscillator, and two solid-state laser modules 55 are arranged in the amplifier such that the oscillator and the laser optical axis are linear. Reference numeral 77 denotes a laser beam amplified by a solid-state laser module outside the resonator. D is the thickness in the propagation direction of the laser beam 7 of the partial reflection mirror 2 having both the front and back surfaces formed flat, and n
Represents the refractive index of the partial reflection mirror 2 at the wavelength of the laser beam 7.

In FIG. 13, a semiconductor laser 3 is provided between a resonator constituted by a total reflection mirror 1 and a partial reflection mirror 2.
Solid-state laser module 55 which is an aggregate of an excitation block 50 composed of
Are arranged, and two solid-state laser modules 55 are arranged outside the resonator. The two solid-state laser modules 55 between the resonators and the two solid-state laser modules 55 outside the resonator are arranged such that the distance between the centers of the excitation blocks is L. The two excitation blocks 55 sandwiching the partial reflection mirror 2 are arranged such that the distance between the centers of the excitation blocks is L + d (n-1) / n. With such an arrangement interval, the four solid-state laser modules 55 are optically arranged at equal intervals.

The laser beam 7 extracted from the partial reflection mirror 2 to the outside of the resonator is amplified while passing through the solid-state elements 5 in the two solid-state laser modules 55 outside the resonator, and becomes a laser beam 77. It is taken out of the device.

In the solid-state laser device as described above,
Since two solid-state laser modules 55 are arranged between the resonators, the output per solid-state element is, for example, 50%.
In the case of 0 W or more, the output of the laser beam 7 is 1 kW or more. Therefore, if the diameter of the solid-state element is set to, for example, 4 mm, the laser beam 7 will Since the extraction efficiency at the time of passing is a high value of 50 to 100%, and the solid-state laser modules 55 are arranged so that the centers of the excitation blocks are optically substantially at equal intervals, a plurality of solid-state laser modules are arranged. Since the outputs of the solid-state elements can be reliably coupled with almost no loss, a laser beam 77 having an output of 2 kW or more can be generated stably and efficiently.

In this embodiment, both the oscillator and the amplifier have been described in which two solid-state laser modules 55 are arranged. However, three oscillators, two amplifiers, two oscillators, and three oscillators are provided. A solid-state laser module may be arranged, or more solid-state laser modules may be arranged for each of the oscillator and the amplifier. Also in this case, the arrangement is such that the centers of all the excitation blocks are optically substantially equally spaced.

Embodiment 11 FIG. FIG. 14 shows a solid-state laser device according to Embodiment 11 of the present invention. In the figure, 5
A and 5C denote solid-state elements in the resonator, 5E and 5G denote solid-state elements of the amplifier. The semiconductor lasers for exciting the solid-state element 5A are 3a, 3b, 5C, and the semiconductor lasers for exciting 3c, 3d, and 5E are 3e and 3e.
f, 3g and 3h are semiconductor lasers for exciting 5G.
Reference numeral 9 denotes a power supply for driving the semiconductor lasers 3a to 3h.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a control device (control means) for controlling the power supply 9, reference numeral 92 denotes an electric wire for flowing a current for driving the semiconductor laser 3, and reference numeral 93 denotes an electric wire for transmitting a control signal from the control device 91 to the power supply 9. It is. The power supply 9 is connected to each of the semiconductor lasers 3a to
Multiple outputs are provided so that currents are separately supplied to 3h. Further, an individual power supply may be used for each semiconductor laser.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a portion of, for example, the semiconductor laser 3a viewed from the optical axis direction.
01 is a + terminal of the power supply 9, 902 is a-terminal of the power supply 9, 301 is an anode terminal of the semiconductor lasers 3a1 to 3a4, and 302 is a cathode terminal of the semiconductor lasers 3a1 to 3a4. As described above, in the semiconductor laser 3a, the four semiconductor lasers 3a1 to 3a4 are arranged so as to surround the solid state element at substantially the same position in the optical axis direction of the solid state element 5, and these four semiconductor lasers are connected in series by wiring. It was done. That is, from the + terminal 901 of the power supply 9 to the anode terminal 301 of the semiconductor laser 3a1, from the cathode terminal 302 of the semiconductor laser 3a1 to the anode terminal 30 of the next semiconductor laser 3a2.
1 and the last semiconductor laser 3
The cathode terminal 301 of a4 and the negative terminal 902 of the power supply 9 are connected by the electric wire 92. Other semiconductor lasers 3
b to 3h have the same structure.

The control device 91 controls the time when the power supply 9 starts to supply power to each of the semiconductor lasers 3a to 3h. The present inventors have found that in a solid-state laser having a plurality of solid-state elements, a problem arises in that the rising of excitation of each solid-state element becomes a problem. Deviation of the rise of the excitation of each solid-state device,
That is, it has been found that the semiconductor laser oscillates stably when the shift of the light emission start of the semiconductor laser is 1 ms (millisecond) or less, but the oscillation may become unstable when the shift is about 1 ms or more. 1 ms delay of semiconductor laser emission start
In the following, that is, the deviation of the start of energization to the semiconductor laser is 1 m.
It may be difficult depending on the power supply to make it less than s.
In this case, the oscillation may be unstable. However, as described below, by controlling the order of the energization of the semiconductor laser, the oscillation becomes stable even if there is a deviation in the energization of the semiconductor laser. I understand.

That is, in the case where a plurality of solid state devices are arranged in a resonator and a plurality of semiconductor lasers are arranged side by side in the optical axis direction for each solid state device, the heat input position to each solid state device is The energization may be started in such an order as to be substantially symmetrical with respect to the center of the row of the excitation blocks.

In order that the positions of heat input to the respective solid-state devices are substantially symmetrical with respect to the center of the row of the solid-state laser modules, the following means: A semiconductor laser that is first energized;
The semiconductor lasers located at positions symmetrical with respect to the center of the excitation block are energized, and each semiconductor laser is set so that the integrated value of heat input to the solid-state device located at a position symmetrical with respect to the center of the excitation block becomes equal. This is to control the order of the energization start.

Specifically, in FIG. 14, first, power supply to one semiconductor laser 3a of the solid-state device 5A is started, and
Of the two semiconductor lasers of the solid state element 5C delayed by t seconds,
The energization is started to 3d at a position symmetrical to 3a with respect to the center CC of the row of solid-state laser modules. Further, the power supply to the semiconductor laser 3c is started with a delay of Δt seconds. Further, the power supply to the semiconductor laser 3b is started with a delay of Δt seconds. By doing so, if the output of one semiconductor laser is 500 W,
The solid-state laser element 5 is turned on after the semiconductor laser 3a, which is turned on first, is turned on and before the last laser 3b is turned on.
A is supplied with excitation energy of 500 Wx3Δt, and the solid-state laser element 5C is also supplied with excitation energy of 500 Wx (2 + 1) Δt = 500 W × 3Δt. As described above, since the excitation energies applied to the solid-state elements 5A and 5C during this period are equal, the thermal histories of the solid-state elements 5A and 5C are substantially equal, and the time change of the thermal lens of the two solid-state elements is also substantially equal. . In addition, since the semiconductor laser located at a position symmetrical with respect to the center of the row of the excitation blocks is turned on without a large time delay, the thermal lens of each solid-state element is temporally changed even when the thermal lens changes transiently when the switch is turned on. But symmetrically with respect to the center of the row of excitation blocks,
The resonator design in which the solid-state elements are arranged at equal intervals is alive, and stable operation can be ensured.

The order in which the semiconductor laser is energized is not limited to the order described above, but may be 3b → 3c → 3d → 3a, or 3c → 3b → 3a → 3d, or 3d → 3a → 3.
The order may be b → 3c.

As for the semiconductor lasers 3e, 3f, 3g, and 3h of the solid-state laser module of the amplifier, it is preferable to start the current supply to all the semiconductor lasers of the solid-state laser module in the resonator. This is because exciting the amplifier before the oscillator stage can cause parasitic oscillations in the amplifier. As described above, by controlling the semiconductor laser of the amplifier to start energizing after the semiconductor laser of the oscillator stage, a stable high-power laser beam 77 can be obtained.

Embodiment 12 FIG. In the twelfth embodiment,
A description will be given of the order of starting the energization of the semiconductor laser when there are three solid-state laser modules in the resonator stage as shown in FIG. When two semiconductor lasers are arranged in the optical axis direction of each solid-state laser module, the semiconductor lasers are moved from the total reflection mirror 1 side to 3a, 3b, 3c, 3c.
d, 3e, 3f, the solid-state element is 5
A, 5C, and 5E. First, when power is started to 3b, power is started to 3e located between the total reflection mirror 1 and the partial reflection mirror 2, that is, symmetrically with respect to the center CC of the row of excitation blocks in the oscillator. The semiconductor laser 3d of the central solid-state laser module without heat input, followed by 3d and 3c symmetrically positioned with respect to CC, and then 2d.
The energization of the semiconductor laser 3e in the solid-state laser module in which the energization of the semiconductor laser 3e is started first and the energization of the other semiconductor laser 3f are finally started. By starting the energization in such an order, the heat input position to each solid-state element becomes substantially symmetric with respect to the center CC of the row of the solid-state laser modules,
In addition, the integrated value of the heat input to each solid element becomes equal. In the above case, the order of 3c and 3d may be reversed. Further, the following order may be used. First, energization is started to 3c in the central solid-state laser module, then to 3d at the symmetric position of 3c, then 3a, then to 3f at the symmetric position to 3a, then to 3e, and finally to 3b. You may.
In this case, the heat input to the central solid element 5C is larger than the other two heat inputs, but this solid element 5C is located at the center of the resonator, and the heat lens of this solid element is the same as that of the other solid elements. Even if it is slightly different from the thermal lens, the effect on oscillation is small. The order is such that the thermal lenses of the solid-state devices located symmetrically with respect to the center of the solid-state laser module like the solid-state devices 5A and 5E, that is, the order in which the integrated values of the heat input amounts are equal.

Here, by controlling the deviation Δt of the time when the power supply 9 starts energizing the respective semiconductor lasers 3 to be, for example, 1 second or less, the thermally deformed solid-state elements 5A and 5A are controlled.
The time difference between the intensities of the lenses C and 5E is reduced, and the high-power laser beam 7 can be generated stably.

The semiconductor lasers 3g, 3h, 3i and 3j of the solid-state laser module of the amplifier are described in Embodiment 1.
As in the case of 1, it is preferable that energization is started after energization of all the semiconductor lasers in the solid-state laser module in the resonator. As described above, by controlling the semiconductor laser of the amplifier to start energizing after the semiconductor laser of the oscillator stage, a stable high-power laser beam 77 can be obtained.

Embodiment 13 FIG. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing a solid-state laser device according to Embodiment 13 of the present invention. In each of the embodiments described above, the laser optical system forms the laser resonator by using two opposing resonator mirrors. However, in this embodiment, only one total reflection mirror 1 is used. It is arranged so that the laser beam 777 is taken out from the end face of the solid-state element on the opposite side. Laser oscillation occurs between the total reflection mirror 1 and the end face of the solid-state element due to minute reflected light from the end face of the solid-state element including the active medium arranged in multiple stages, and a laser output can be obtained without disposing a partial transmission mirror. . In addition, due to the guide effect of the inner side surface of the laser medium, only a resonance mode having a certain beam quality or higher oscillates, and as a result, a laser beam with good beam quality is obtained. According to actual experimental results, in this configuration, an output of 1 kW or more could be extracted with a beam quality of about M2 = 50.

In all the above-mentioned embodiments, the optical coating of the laser beam incidence and emission surfaces of the optical components has not been described. However, any location of the laser beam passage, such as an optical element or a flow tube, is not described. If an anti-reflection coating is applied to the device, the oscillation efficiency can be improved.

Although four semiconductor lasers are shown around the solid-state element, the present invention is not limited to this, and similar effects can be obtained if there are a plurality of semiconductor lasers. In addition, although the inner surface is shown to be uniformly excited by the light collector of the diffuse reflection surface, in the embodiments other than the third, fourth and fifth embodiments, the light is uniformly excited without using the light collector of the diffuse reflection surface. Excitation may be used. For example, six or many semiconductor lasers are arranged around a solid-state element, and a concentrator is not used. For example, a similar effect can be exerted if it can be excited almost uniformly.

Embodiment 14 FIG. When the solid-state laser device according to Embodiments 1 to 13 described above is applied to a laser processing device, a stable laser processing device with high beam quality can be obtained, and stable and high-quality processing can be performed. Further, in a laser processing apparatus using fiber transmission, since the beam position is stable, the incident position on the fiber does not shift, and the fiber can be stably incident.

[0075]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the solid state device including the active medium and the excitation light from the semiconductor laser for exciting the solid state device are irradiated from the periphery of the solid state device. And a plurality of solid-state laser modules comprising: a plurality of solid-state laser modules comprising: a plurality of solid-state laser modules comprising: a plurality of solid-state laser modules; The output of the solid-state element can be reliably coupled to generate a high-power laser beam stably.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the distance between the solid-state elements is set to 500 (cm) / √M ² or less.
A stable laser output can be obtained, and thereby stable laser processing can be realized.

In the solid-state laser device according to the third aspect, since the diameter of the solid-state element is 0.1 (cm) × √M ² or less, a stable laser output can be obtained.
Stable laser processing can be realized.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the excitation density per unit length is set to 100 W / cm or more, a high output can be obtained with a solid element having a short length.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the solid-state element has a cylindrical shape and a diameter of 5.5 mm or less, it is possible to obtain a laser beam having high output and good beam quality with a compact configuration.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the solid-state element is a Y element.
ttrium AluminumGarnet (YA
G), and the beam quality is M ² <100, so that a stable laser beam is obtained, and efficient laser processing can be realized using this laser beam.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a solid-state device including an active medium, and an excitation block configured to irradiate excitation light from a semiconductor laser for exciting the solid-state device from around the solid-state device. A plurality of solid-state laser modules, and a laser optical system for extracting laser light from the solid-state device, at least two of the plurality of solid-state laser modules are disposed between the laser optical systems, and At least one of the plurality of solid-state laser modules is disposed outside the laser optical system, and the solid-state laser modules are arranged such that the centers of the respective excitation blocks of the plurality of solid-state laser modules are substantially equally spaced optically along the center of the solid-state laser beam. Since the laser beam is arranged, a laser beam having a higher output and higher stability can be generated.

According to the present invention, a plurality of solid-state laser modules, a laser optical system for extracting laser light from a solid-state element, a power supply for driving a plurality of semiconductor lasers, and a control means for controlling the power supply are provided. In addition, since the control means controls the time when the energization of the plurality of semiconductor lasers is started, it is possible to control to stably generate a high-output laser beam immediately after the start of oscillation.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state laser device of the eighth aspect, the time lag between the start of energization from the power supply to the plurality of semiconductor lasers is set to 1 millisecond or less. A high-power laser beam can be generated.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the solid-state laser device of the eighth aspect, at least two solid-state laser modules are arranged between the laser optical systems, and at least one
Since the solid state laser modules are arranged outside the laser optical system, it is possible to stably generate a high-output laser beam.

According to the eleventh aspect, in the tenth aspect,
In the solid-state laser device, the order in which the plurality of semiconductor lasers are energized is changed from the semiconductor laser included in the solid-state laser module disposed between the laser optical systems to the solid-state laser module disposed outside the laser optical system. Since the time for starting energization of the semiconductor laser is controlled so that the order of the semiconductor lasers is included, a high-power laser beam can be stably generated immediately after the start of oscillation.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention,
In the solid-state laser device, a plurality of solid-state laser modules arranged between the laser optical systems are provided with a plurality of semiconductor lasers arranged side by side in the optical axis direction, and the center of the excitation block is along the optical axis of the solid-state laser beam. Are arranged at substantially equal intervals, and the time lag between the start of energization of the plurality of semiconductor lasers is set to 1 millisecond or more, and the order of starting the energization is determined by the heat input to each solid state element of the excitation block. Since the control is performed so as to be substantially symmetrical with respect to the center of the row, a high-output and stable laser beam can be reliably generated immediately after the start of oscillation.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, two solid-state laser modules are arranged between the laser optical systems, and two semiconductor lasers are arranged on each of the two solid-state laser modules in the optical axis direction. Wherein the control means sets the order in which the four semiconductor lasers are energized,
After the semiconductor laser that has been first energized, energization of the semiconductor laser that has been initially energized starts at a position symmetrical to the center of the row of the solid-state laser module, and then energizes second. The other semiconductor laser of the same solid-state laser module as the started semiconductor laser is energized, and then the other semiconductor laser of the same solid-state laser module as the first energized semiconductor laser is controlled to be energized. Therefore, a high-output and stable laser beam can be reliably generated immediately after the start of oscillation.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the excitation block includes the semiconductor laser and a condenser having an inner surface formed in a diffuse reflection shape and having an opening for introducing light from the semiconductor laser into the inside. With this configuration, a high-output laser beam can be generated with high efficiency and stability.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a concentrator having a semiconductor laser, an opening having an inner surface formed in a diffuse reflection shape, and for introducing light from the semiconductor laser into the inside, and having a cooling means. And a solid-state device disposed in the condenser and including an active medium excited by the light of the semiconductor laser, and a laser optical system for extracting laser light from the excited solid-state device, so that high output Therefore, thermal deformation of members near the solid state element due to the formation of the solid state element can be prevented, and a plurality of solid state elements can be stably connected to increase the output.

According to the present invention, since the optical element for transmitting the light of the semiconductor laser is provided in the opening of the condenser, the light of the semiconductor laser can be collected efficiently with a simple configuration. It can be guided into the optical device, and an efficient one can be obtained.

According to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, since the cooling medium passage is provided in the light collector, thermal deformation of members near the solid-state element due to high output can be reliably prevented.

According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, a cylindrical flow tube is provided so as to surround the periphery of the solid-state device, a cooling medium flows through the flow tube, and the cross-sectional shape of the inner surface of the light collector is formed circular. The gap between the outer surface of the flow tube and the inner surface of the light collector is set to 0.2 mm or less, and a part of the heat of the light collector is transmitted to the cooling medium. It can be prevented more reliably.

According to the nineteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a solid-state device including an active medium and an excitation block configured to irradiate the solid-state device with excitation light from a semiconductor laser for exciting the solid-state device. A plurality of solid-state laser modules are arranged in series so that the axes of the solid-state elements substantially coincide with each other, and a total reflection mirror is arranged on the axis of the solid-state elements and on one side of the row of the solid-state laser modules. Since the laser light is extracted from the end face of the solid-state element located at the end opposite to the total reflection mirror, a high-output laser beam can be obtained with a very simple configuration.

According to the twentieth aspect of the present invention, the output is set to 1 kW or more in the solid-state laser device described above, so that a high-power laser beam can be obtained with a compact configuration.

According to the twenty-first aspect of the present invention, since the above-mentioned solid-state laser device is provided in the laser processing device, it is possible to stably perform high-quality laser processing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a lateral side view showing a solid-state laser device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the solid-state laser device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the solid-state laser device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a lateral side view showing a solid-state laser device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a solid-state laser device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a solid-state laser device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a solid-state laser device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing a flow tube of a solid-state laser device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a solid-state laser device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a solid-state laser device according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a solid-state laser device according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a lateral side view showing a solid-state laser device according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a lateral side view showing a solid-state laser device according to Embodiment 10 of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a lateral side view showing a solid-state laser device according to Embodiment 11 of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a solid-state laser device according to an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a lateral side view showing a solid-state laser device according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a lateral side view showing a solid-state laser device according to Embodiment 13 of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a lateral side view showing a conventional solid-state laser device.

FIG. 19 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional solid-state laser device.

FIG. 20 illustrates an operation of a conventional solid-state laser device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Total reflection mirror 3, 3a-3j, 3a1-3a4 Semiconductor laser 4 Condenser 40 Cooling medium passage 5, 5A, 5C, 5E, 5G, 5I Solid element 31 Opening 32, 33 Optical element 50 Excitation block 55 Solid laser Module 9 Power supply 91 Control means L Distance between centers of excitation blocks D Distance between solid-state elements

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tetsuo Kojima 2-3-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Mitsui Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Keisuke Furuta 2-3-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Rishi Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masayuki Seguchi 2-3-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo F-term (reference) 5F072 AB01 AB02 AK01 FF09 HH09 JJ04 JJ05 JJ06 KK30 PP07 TT01 TT14 TT22 YY06

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. A solid-state laser module comprising: a solid-state device including an active medium; and an excitation block configured to irradiate excitation light from a semiconductor laser for exciting the solid-state device from around the solid-state device. Wherein the solid-state laser module is arranged so that the centers of the excitation blocks are substantially equally spaced along the optical axis of the solid-state laser beam. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the solid-state elements is a quality index value M of a laser beam generated from the solid-state laser device.
^2. The solid-state laser device according to claim 1, wherein the solid-state laser device is connected to the following equation. Distance between solid elements <500 (cm) / √M ² 3. The quality index value M ² of a laser beam generated from the solid-state laser device, wherein the diameter of the solid-state element is:
The solid-state laser device according to claim 1, wherein the solid-state laser device is connected by the following equation. Diameter of solid device <0.1 (cm) × ΔM ² 4. An excitation density per unit length of 100 W /
The solid-state laser device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the distance is set to not less than cm. 5. The solid-state element having a cylindrical shape and a diameter of 5.5.
The solid-state laser device according to claim 4, wherein the diameter is equal to or less than mm. 6. The solid-state device is a Yttrium Alu.
minum a Garnet (YAG), the beam quality is solid-state laser apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a M ² <100. 7. A solid-state laser module comprising: a solid-state element including an active medium; and an excitation block configured to irradiate the solid-state element with excitation light from a semiconductor laser for exciting the solid-state element from around the solid-state element. And a laser optical system for extracting laser light from the solid-state element,
At least two of the plurality of solid-state laser modules
Are disposed between the laser optical systems, and at least one of the solid-state laser modules is disposed outside the laser optical system. A solid-state laser device, wherein the solid-state laser modules are arranged so as to be optically at substantially equal intervals along the optical axis of the laser beam. 8. A solid-state laser module comprising: a solid-state device including an active medium; and an excitation block configured to irradiate the solid-state device with excitation light from a semiconductor laser for exciting the solid-state device from around the solid-state device. A laser optical system for extracting laser light from the solid-state device, a power supply for driving the semiconductor laser, and control means for controlling the power supply. The control means starts energizing the plurality of semiconductor lasers. A solid-state laser device characterized by controlling the time for performing the operation. 9. The solid-state laser device according to claim 8, wherein a time lag between the start of power supply to the plurality of semiconductor lasers from the power supply is set to 1 millisecond or less. 10. At least two solid-state laser modules are disposed between said laser optics and at least one
9. The solid-state laser device according to claim 8, wherein said solid-state laser modules are arranged outside said laser optical system. 11. An order in which energization of the plurality of semiconductor lasers is started from the semiconductor laser included in the solid-state laser module disposed between the laser optical systems.
11. The semiconductor laser according to claim 10, wherein a time for starting energization of the semiconductor laser is controlled so that the semiconductor laser included in the solid-state laser module disposed outside the laser optical system is in order. Solid state laser device. 12. A plurality of solid-state laser modules disposed between the laser optical systems, a plurality of semiconductor lasers are provided side by side in the optical axis direction, and the center of the excitation block is aligned with the optical axis of the solid-state laser beam. The semiconductor lasers are arranged at substantially equal intervals along a line, and a time lag for starting the current supply to the plurality of semiconductor lasers is set to 1 millisecond or more, and the order of starting the current supply is determined by the heat input to each of the solid-state elements. 12. The solid-state laser device according to claim 8, wherein the control is performed so as to be substantially symmetrical with respect to the center of the row of the excitation blocks arranged between the laser optical systems. 13. Two solid-state laser modules are arranged between the laser optical systems, and two semiconductor lasers are arranged side by side in the optical axis direction on each of the two solid-state laser modules. The order in which the four semiconductor lasers are energized is set at a position symmetrical to the center of the solid-state laser module row of the first energized semiconductor laser after the first energized semiconductor laser. A certain semiconductor laser is energized, and then the other solid-state laser of the same solid-state laser module as the second energized semiconductor laser is energized, and then the same solid-state laser module as the first energized semiconductor laser is energized. 13. The solid-state laser device according to claim 12, wherein control is performed to start energization of the other semiconductor laser. 14. The excitation block comprises the semiconductor laser and a condenser having an inner surface formed in a diffuse reflection shape and having an opening for introducing light from the semiconductor laser into the inside. The solid-state laser device according to claim 1. 15. A concentrator having a semiconductor laser, an inner surface formed in a diffuse reflection shape, an opening for introducing light from the semiconductor laser into the inside, and a cooling means, and the concentrator. A solid-state laser device, comprising: a solid-state device disposed inside the semiconductor device and including an active medium excited by the light of the semiconductor laser; and a laser optical system for extracting laser light from the excited solid-state device. 16. The solid-state laser device according to claim 14, wherein an optical element for transmitting light of the semiconductor laser is provided in an opening of the condenser. 17. The solid-state laser device according to claim 15, wherein a cooling medium passage is provided in said condenser. 18. A cylindrical flow tube is provided so as to surround the periphery of the solid-state element. A cooling medium flows through the flow tube, and a cross-sectional shape of the inner surface of the light collector is circular. 16. The solid-state laser device according to claim 15, wherein a gap between an outer surface and the inner surface of the light collector is set to 0.2 mm or less, and a part of heat of the light collector is transmitted to the cooling medium. 19. A solid-state laser module, comprising: a solid-state device including an active medium; and an excitation block configured to irradiate excitation light from a semiconductor laser for exciting the solid-state device from around the solid-state device. Are arranged in series so that the axes of the solid-state elements substantially coincide with each other, and a total reflection mirror is arranged on the axis of the solid-state elements and on one side of the row of the solid-state laser modules. A solid-state laser device, which extracts a laser beam from an end face of a solid-state element located at an end opposite to a reflection mirror. 20. The solid-state laser device according to claim 1, wherein the output is 1 kW or more. 21. A laser processing apparatus comprising the solid-state laser device according to claim 1.