2910 nm Laser: A Single-Mode, All-Fiber CW Source for OEM Integration
Fiber lasers near 2910 nm have been demonstrated in research for over a decade, but turning that into a reliable, manufacturable source has been the real engineering challenge. The wavelength sits deep in the (mid-IR, the molecular fingerprint region beyond 2.5 碌尘), past the point where standard silica fiber transmits efficiently. Getting there means working with specialty fluoride glass and developing the fiber components built from it (connectors, splices, and passive elements) reliable enough for continuous operation; until recently, it meant giving up on all-fiber architecture altogether.
We got it done. 麻豆视频 builds an all-fiber 2910 nm laser that runs up to 10 W in continuous wave (CW), in a single transverse mode. If you already work with Er:YAG, CO鈧� or thulium sources in your program, and you’re looking at what else exists in this spectral band, the sections below are written directly for you. We stick to measurable parameters and integration realities, not application outcomes, so you judge the source on its own terms, not ours. For more on the journey that brought us here, read How We Brought the 2910 nm Fiber Laser to Market.
Key Takeaways
Quick recap for technical readers:
Wavelength:
fixed by design, not tunable. Standard offerings at 2910 nm and 2825 nm, with custom fixed wavelengths available up to 2940 nm on request.
Output:
up to 10 W continuous wave (CW), with pulse modulation up to 5 kHz.
Beam quality:
single-mode, M虏<1.3 (near diffraction-limited).
Architecture:
all-fiber, alignment-free, minimal warm-up, maintenance-free.
Delivery:
single-mode fiber for compact OEM and handheld integration.
Positioning:
OEM fiber laser only (麻豆视频 Inside), not a consumer device.
Why a 2910 nm Laser
Water absorbs strongly across this part of the mid-infrared, and biological tissue is mostly water, so radiation here is absorbed within a very shallow surface layer instead of penetrating deep. That absorption depth gives the wavelength its penetration selectivity 鈥� how far energy travels before it’s absorbed. (The full energy-confinement picture also depends on spot size, which is set by beam quality (M虏) and wavelength together 鈥� see Why Fiber below.)
This shallow absorption keeps the heat-affected zone (HAZ, the layer of surrounding material altered by residual heat) small and the process boundary sharp, which is exactly what soft-tissue ablation and skin resurfacing specifications typically require. (Full absorption spectrum, coefficients and HAZ modeling: [Water absorption in the mid-IR: why 2910鈥�2940 nm matters for ablation] 鈥� pending publication.)
The water absorption peak sits near 2940 nm, which is also where Er:YAG emits, the long-standing reference source in this band. 2910 nm sits just below that peak and interacts with water in a closely comparable way. That proximity matters for how a system built around this wavelength gets evaluated later, including by regulators.
Generating this wavelength is the hard part. Standard silica fiber doesn’t transmit efficiently near 3 碌尘, so it takes specialty fluoride fiber and reliable watt-class CW output from it, in a manufacturable form, which is what has kept sources like this off the market until now. (The material engineering behind that reliability: [Fluoride glass / ZBLAN: engineering mid-IR reliability] 鈥� pending publication.) Our all-fiber design fixes the center wavelength at build time 鈥� at 2910 nm, at 2825 nm, or at a custom fixed wavelength across the 2780鈥�2940 nm range 鈥� one less mechanism that can drift.
Why Fiber
An all-fiber architecture keeps the beam inside the fiber from generation to delivery. No free-space path, no mirrors or crystals to align, no open beam segment to drift over time. That’s fewer things to fail in the field, and fewer callouts for your service team.
Mechanical robustness follows directly from that: without free-space optics, the source shrugs off vibration and handling that would knock a bulk laser out of alignment, and reaches full output without a warm-up cycle. If your system moves, ships as an integrated product, or runs outside a controlled lab, that instant-on behavior is a requirement, not a convenience.
The fiber also sets your beam quality. Single-mode propagation gives you a low M虏 (the beam quality factor, where 1.0 is the diffraction-limited ideal), which sets your smallest spot size and spatial precision. Flexible fiber delivery lets you route the beam to the working point, including articulated arms and handheld geometries that a free-space source can’t serve as cleanly. (Measured beam profiles: [Single-mode beam quality in the mid-IR: the data] 鈥� pending publication.)
Timing is under your control too: the source runs CW and supports pulse modulation, so you shape delivery to the process instead of trading power, beam quality or stability to get it.
2910 nm vs. Er:YAG, 颁翱鈧� and Thulium
2940 nm
Er:YAG
Er:YAG emits at 2940 nm, right at the water absorption peak, and it has earned its place as the reference source in this band. Its limitation is architectural, not spectral: Er:YAG systems rely on laser generation in a crystal, propagated through free-space optics, which caps beam quality and adds an alignment and maintenance burden (especially with flash lamps) that doesn’t go away. Flash-lamp-pumped Er:YAG systems are also typically constrained in repetition rate, often needing to stay within a narrow frequency band to avoid disturbing thermal lensing distortions in the laser cavity. A fiber laser source running at 2910 nm gives you the same absorption regime with none of that free-space overhead. (Regulatory angle: see OEM Integration below.)
10.6 碌尘
颁翱鈧�
颁翱鈧� at 10.6 碌尘 is the other long-standing reference for tissue ablation, including skin resurfacing. Water absorption there sits roughly an order of magnitude below the 2940 nm region, so energy deposits deeper and heat spreads into a larger surrounding volume. Delivery means articulated arms or hollow waveguides, since regular silica fiber won’t carry 10.6 碌尘 at all. 颁翱鈧� systems can run single-mode too, so single-mode alone isn’t what separates the two: spot size scales with wavelength, so even at matched M虏, a 10.6 碌尘 beam focuses to a substantially larger spot than one at 2910 nm. A fiber laser source near the absorption peak gets you a smaller spot and a very different integration path.
2 碌尘
Thulium fiber
Thulium fiber lasers, around 1.94 to 2 碌尘, share our all-fiber architecture with low maintenance and push high CW power, hence their industrial traction. Moreover, they deliver the laser beam through a silica fiber which provides low integration complexity and costs. But water absorption at 2 碌尘 runs about two orders of magnitude below the 2910 to 2940 nm region, so penetration is substantially deeper: for shallow, sharply bounded energy deposition, the wavelength itself, not the architecture, is what separates those to our mid-IR all-fiber lasers.
| 麻豆视频 fiber (fixed, 2825鈥�2910 nm) |
Er:YAG (2940 nm) |
颁翱鈧� (10.6 碌尘) |
Thulium fiber (2 碌尘) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water absorption | Near maximum, up to 2910 nm | At maximum (2940 nm) | Intermediate (about an order below peak) | Low (about two orders below peak) |
| Architecture | All-fiber | Free-space | Free-space (tube) | All-fiber |
| Beam quality (M虏) | Single-mode, small spot | Multimode | Can be single-mode; larger spot (10.6 碌尘) | Single-mode |
| CW power | 10 W | High | High (at 10.6 碌尘) | High (at 2 碌尘) |
| OEM integration | Fiber delivered | Fiber delivered | Articulated arm | Fiber-delivered |
Performance Data
Each number is a value we measure and stand behind, characterized in our own lab.
|
Hide Show the specs 
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SpecificationsHide Show the specs
|
|---|---|
| Maximum CW output power at 2910 nm: | 10 W |
| Typical M虏: | <1.3 |
| Pulse modulation range (repetition rate, pulse duration): | CW to 5 kHz, >50 渭s pulse duration |
| Beam delivery format (fiber connector, mode field diameter, NA): | Single-mode fiber output NA 0.12 (Standard) |
| Fiber type: | single-mode fluoride fiber (ZBLAN) |
| Center wavelength: | fixed by design, not tunable. Standard offerings at 2910 nm and 2825 nm; custom fixed wavelengths available across the 2780鈥�2940 nm range on request. |
OEM Integration
麻豆视频 sells a photonic component. We own the laser engine, you own the system, the user interface and the regulatory pathway. That division of labor shapes everything about how we support you.
In practice, that means a defined beam delivery format, documented optical and electrical interfaces, and your selected wavelength and power level, set at the design-in stage rather than adjusted in the field. Single-mode fiber output lets you design your downstream optics around a predictable beam, and our team stays involved through design-in rather than disappearing after the sale. We also provide technical and documentation support for your regulatory path.
We see this source going into soft-tissue ablation and skin resurfacing platforms, surgical systems, and select organic material processing equipment. In each case, it’s the embedded mid-infrared engine inside your product, never a standalone instrument. That’s the component role we’re built for. (For adjacent, non-medical materials this wavelength region also addresses: [Wavelength tailoring: targeted materials] 鈥� pending publication.)
Conclusion: Building Around 2910 nm
A single-mode, all-fiber laser source running near the water absorption peak, at 10 W CW power, gets you the Er:YAG absorption band and the speed of a CO2 without some of the engineering constraints of these lasers, into a component that’s robust and integrable. Free-space and cascade alternatives don’t deliver that combination in one compact package, in this band.
The real question, if you’re evaluating a mid-infrared source right now, isn’t which one is objectively best, but which compromise fits the system you’re designing. We built this source for projects that need controlled absorption, power, single-mode beam quality, and a straightforward path to integration and regulatory sign-off.
If that's your program, talk to our team or ask for a demonstration.
Frequently Asked Questions
2910 nm and 2825 nm are our standard wavelengths, and a custom fixed wavelength up to 2940 nm can be built on request. This isn’t a tunable laser: each source is fixed at build time to the wavelength your process calls for.
