Fiber lasers offer benefits such as long lifetimes, low complexity, reduced running costs, and low maintenance, which can now be found in a variety of fiber-based products with power levels matching the needs of applications previously served by CO_(2) lasers. The earliest fiber laser is credited to Elias Snitzer in 1961, and the first coherent light emission from a semiconductor diode (the first diode laser) was demonstrated in 1962 by two US groups at GE and IBM. Fiber laser technology has since been scaled up into power levels as high as those achieved by the older, "historic" CO_(2) laser technology. It is at this 50 kW average power level that the differences in the technology are brought into the sharpest focus: A 50 kW CO_(2) laser occupies the space of a small house, whereas the space occupied by a 50 kW fiber laser is closer to that of a large freezer cabinet. Other benefits of fiber lasers such as ease of use, lack of complexity, near-zero maintenance, wall-plug efficiency, and low running costs are now well accepted. The incumbent CO_(2) technology will always be difficult to displace as some users will prefer to stick with familiar products and technology, as well as established laser supplier relationships.
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