Direct green laser diodes/modules?

[Richard Rasker]

Hello,

I'm designing some equipment which incorporates a 5 mW green laser module.
The problem is that all green lasers I've been able to find so far are based
on a 1064 nm IR laser pumping a frequency doubler, resulting in a 532 nm
green beam.
This type of pumped green laser has lots of drawbacks: it's relatively
bulky, has a rather limited operating temperature range (roughly between 15
and 35 degrees Centigrade) and relatively high power consumption, and
produces a lot of IR output, which needs to be filtered out (as the
illuminated area/object is recorded by a camera system).

Now I believe that pico beamers have direct green lasers onboard, but so
far, I haven't been able to find direct green laser diodes or modules as a
separate component. Does anyone know if these devices already exist? and if
so, where they can be bought?

About the colour: I'm not at liberty to explain why it has to be a green
laser, but other colours (red or blue lasers) are no good for our purpose.

Thanks in advance,

Richard Rasker

 

[holyhigh]

Hello,

I'm designing some equipment which incorporates a 5 mW green laser module.
The problem is that all green lasers I've been able to find so far are
based
on a 1064 nm IR laser pumping a frequency doubler, resulting in a 532 nm
green beam.
This type of pumped green laser has lots of drawbacks: it's relatively
bulky, has a rather limited operating temperature range (roughly between
15
and 35 degrees Centigrade) and relatively high power consumption, and
produces a lot of IR output, which needs to be filtered out (as the
illuminated area/object is recorded by a camera system).

Now I believe that pico beamers have direct green lasers onboard, but so
far, I haven't been able to find direct green laser diodes or modules as a
separate component. Does anyone know if these devices already exist? and
if
so, where they can be bought?

About the colour: I'm not at liberty to explain why it has to be a green
laser, but other colours (red or blue lasers) are no good for our purpose.

Thanks in advance,

Richard Rasker

ebay,

$5 with free shipping from China.
Or you can get a 50mW for $18.

Be very careful with Green !!, you CAN put an *eye out*,
and 5mW is too much, if you look at the safety specs, it says 5mW at a
1/1,000 duty cycle, NOT 5mW continuous !!!! (as they make in CHINA)

50mW will dammage your retna off reflected light

USA Laser Product Regulation 21 CFR 1040.10

 

[Rich Webb]

Hello,

I'm designing some equipment which incorporates a 5 mW green laser module.
The problem is that all green lasers I've been able to find so far are based
on a 1064 nm IR laser pumping a frequency doubler, resulting in a 532 nm
green beam.
This type of pumped green laser has lots of drawbacks: it's relatively
bulky, has a rather limited operating temperature range (roughly between 15
and 35 degrees Centigrade) and relatively high power consumption, and
produces a lot of IR output, which needs to be filtered out (as the
illuminated area/object is recorded by a camera system).

Now I believe that pico beamers have direct green lasers onboard, but so
far, I haven't been able to find direct green laser diodes or modules as a
separate component. Does anyone know if these devices already exist? and if
so, where they can be bought?

About the colour: I'm not at liberty to explain why it has to be a green
laser, but other colours (red or blue lasers) are no good for our purpose.

Coincidentally (?) there's an article in this week's EDN (as well as
others in the trade press) about a true green laser from EpiCrystals.

 

[holyhigh]

Hello,

I'm designing some equipment which incorporates a 5 mW green laser module.
The problem is that all green lasers I've been able to find so far are
based
on a 1064 nm IR laser pumping a frequency doubler, resulting in a 532 nm
green beam.
This type of pumped green laser has lots of drawbacks: it's relatively
bulky, has a rather limited operating temperature range (roughly between
15
and 35 degrees Centigrade) and relatively high power consumption, and
produces a lot of IR output, which needs to be filtered out (as the
illuminated area/object is recorded by a camera system).

Now I believe that pico beamers have direct green lasers onboard, but so
far, I haven't been able to find direct green laser diodes or modules as a
separate component. Does anyone know if these devices already exist? and
if
so, where they can be bought?

About the colour: I'm not at liberty to explain why it has to be a green
laser, but other colours (red or blue lasers) are no good for our purpose.

Thanks in advance,

Richard Rasker

put your eye out with this one;
http://cgi.ebay.com/532nm-200mw-Gre...338?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb65c7592

$5.90 and free shipping (still damage eye too)
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-5mW-532nm-G...388?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415b48a3ac
the front comes off and you have the module

http://cgi.ebay.com/532nm-50mw-Gree...685?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c6d3f7bd

 

[Dirk Bruere at NeoPax]

Hello,

I'm designing some equipment which incorporates a 5 mW green laser module.
The problem is that all green lasers I've been able to find so far are based
on a 1064 nm IR laser pumping a frequency doubler, resulting in a 532 nm
green beam.
This type of pumped green laser has lots of drawbacks: it's relatively
bulky, has a rather limited operating temperature range (roughly between 15
and 35 degrees Centigrade) and relatively high power consumption, and
produces a lot of IR output, which needs to be filtered out (as the
illuminated area/object is recorded by a camera system).

Now I believe that pico beamers have direct green lasers onboard, but so
far, I haven't been able to find direct green laser diodes or modules as a
separate component. Does anyone know if these devices already exist? and if
so, where they can be bought?

About the colour: I'm not at liberty to explain why it has to be a green
laser, but other colours (red or blue lasers) are no good for our purpose.

Thanks in advance,

Richard Rasker

Green is good for ocean penetration

 

[Richard Rasker]

put your eye out with this one;
http://cgi.ebay.com/532nm-200mw-Gre...338?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb65c7592

$5.90 and free shipping (still damage eye too)
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-5mW-532nm-G...388?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415b48a3ac
the front comes off and you have the module

http://cgi.ebay.com/532nm-50mw-Gree...685?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c6d3f7bd

I already did extensive (re)search on eBay and laser manufacturers' sites,
but unfortunately, all these are the pumped IR-types I already described.
My main problem is the very limited operational temperature range (15-35
degrees Celsius), which is exceeded in all sorts of climates and
environments. At 10 degrees Celsius for instance, there's hardly any green
output any more, but still a huge amount of IR -- in fact far more than at
the optimal temperature, because the green light feedback circuit drives
the IR laser diode to its limits.

Sure, I can include a Peltier element and some extra control electronics to
keep the laser at the optimum temperature, but I'd very much like to do
away with all the hassle and use a true green laser diode.

Richard Rasker

 

[Don Klipstein]

I'm designing some equipment which incorporates a 5 mW green laser module.
The problem is that all green lasers I've been able to find so far are
based on a 1064 nm IR laser pumping a frequency doubler, resulting in a
532 nm green beam.
This type of pumped green laser has lots of drawbacks: it's relatively
bulky, has a rather limited operating temperature range (roughly between
15 and 35 degrees Centigrade) and relatively high power consumption, and
produces a lot of IR output, which needs to be filtered out (as the
illuminated area/object is recorded by a camera system).

Now I believe that pico beamers have direct green lasers onboard, but so
far, I haven't been able to find direct green laser diodes or modules as a
separate component. Does anyone know if these devices already exist? and
if so, where they can be bought?

The green in "pico beamers" comers from blue lasers irradiating a
blue-utilizing green-fluorescing phosphor.

I have heard of green laser diode laboratory prototypes. IIRC, the
wavelength was around 515 nm, a very slightly bluish shade of green.

<SNIP comment / lack-thereof for need of green>

 

[Don Klipstein]

In <11804d56-2826-4e26-b5bf-bd5f8d0ea276@em7g2000vbb.googlegroups.com>,
George Herold wrote:

I only know of red's up to ~635nm and then blues at ~405nm.

~405 nm appears to me as violet. I have one.

There is a recent blue one at ~445 nm. A friend loaned me one.

 

[Dirk Bruere at NeoPax]

Oh, I've barely used the reds and never blue. I just pulled the Thor
labs catalog off the shelf. The blue seem much too expensive.

George H.

 

[Don Klipstein]

It is microvision:
http://www.microvision.com/pico_projector_displays/howitworks.html
They have development tools too.

I took a look. This turns out to be for smaller projectors than I was
thinking of.

Also, evaluation kit costs $2K, development kit costs $2.5K.

Microvision reports use of direct green in prototypes, posted 1/25/2011:

http://www.picoprojectornews.com/pico-projector/first-direct-green-lasers-
fitted-into-pico-projector-prototypes-by-microvision-289/

Mentions that the usual way is conversion of infrared to green (which
usually means 532 nm).

 

[Dirk Bruere at NeoPax]

I took a look. This turns out to be for smaller projectors than I was
thinking of.

Also, evaluation kit costs $2K, development kit costs $2.5K.

Microvision reports use of direct green in prototypes, posted 1/25/2011:

http://www.picoprojectornews.com/pico-projector/first-direct-green-lasers-
fitted-into-pico-projector-prototypes-by-microvision-289/

Mentions that the usual way is conversion of infrared to green (which
usually means 532 nm).

http://arstechnica.com/science/news...a-big-breakthrough-for-laser-display-tech.ars

 

[Don Klipstein]

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/07/green-diode-lasers-a-big-
breakthrough-for-laser-display-tech.ars

That says that green diode lasers ("direct green") will be a major
breakthrough, once they are actually practically achieved.

They mention a prototype that wasn't very good - it barely worked and
only achieved decent efficiency in some pulse mode.

Wavelength range mentioned was 520-531 nm, which is, "in my words",
greenest of mid-green. 520 nm has some significant blue visual
stimulation.

The usual color video display standards specify a "green primary" that
is yelowish. For example, sRGB and NTSC green primaries have "dominant
wavelength" around 550 or in the upper 540's of nm.
My guess is that yellowishness of a green primary is tolerable while
bluishness is not.
Of course, a shorter-wavelength narrower-bandwidth green primary can be
changed to approximation of sRGB or NTSC green primary by having some
percentage of itself added to it from the red primary - as long as it is
not excessively bluish.
(Then again, I see this as doable with green wavelengths even as short
as 525 or 520 nm.)

So, I see the main obstacle being producing laser diodes of wavelength
520-550 nm, able to run continuously (as if the display is of a lawn or a
forest or full-blast white or yellow), and such laser diodes actually
being economically practically in production.

Maybe only another year or 2 ...

 

[Richard Rasker]

The green in "pico beamers" comers from blue lasers irradiating a
blue-utilizing green-fluorescing phosphor.

I have heard of green laser diode laboratory prototypes. IIRC, the
wavelength was around 515 nm, a very slightly bluish shade of green.

Hmm, so I'm wrong, and there are indeed no green laser diodes available,
commercial or not.
Well, I guess that answers my question. Thank you, and everyone else who
took the trouble to reply.

Richard Rasker

 

[[email protected]]

Hmm, so I'm wrong, and there are indeed no green laser diodes available,
commercial or not.
Well, I guess that answers my question. Thank you, and everyone else who
took the trouble to reply.

Yeah, I've been looking for greens, too (red isn't good on LCD or plasma
screens). I'm quite leery of the pumped ones. The boss wants one, but I
don't think he understands the product liability risks built into these
things.

 

[Bret Cannon]

"Richard Rasker" wrote in message

The green in "pico beamers" comers from blue lasers irradiating a
blue-utilizing green-fluorescing phosphor.

I have heard of green laser diode laboratory prototypes. IIRC, the
wavelength was around 515 nm, a very slightly bluish shade of green.

Hmm, so I'm wrong, and there are indeed no green laser diodes available,
commercial or not.
Well, I guess that answers my question. Thank you, and everyone else who
took the trouble to reply.

Richard Rasker
--
http://www.linetec.nl

Toptica Photonics is advertising a 515 nm green laser with what they call
"direct diode technology", see
http://www.toptica.com/pr_news/news...-diode-technology-live-at-photonics-west.html
..

I would be surprised if it were truly directly from a diode laser.

Bret Cannon