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A new kind of industrial laser — light‐energised iodine — is being developed by United Technologies Industrial Lasers. Beam power of the prototype will be 0.5–1.0 kW, that is, at the low end of CO2 laser's. But because of its short beam wavelength — 1.3μm, or one‐eighth that of the CO2 laser's — the beam will be focusable to finer spot sizes, increasing power density and precision. Moreover, unlike the CO2 laser beam, it will be transmittable by fibre optics, enhancing system flexibility.