Alternative laser window

[clickamouse]

Greetings, all;

In an effort to finder a cheaper way to keep my new dual-banger red sealed away from moisture (which condenses like crazy on my TEC-cooled laser mounts), I decided to go for something a little cheaper than the usual Edmunds window I usually use.

The answer: a microscope slide cover slip. These jobbies are around 22mm square, and .13mm thin. Super transparent; easy to lose if you put down on a piece of paper. The enclosure for this is a Hammond plastic project box, which has a nice gasketed seal. I’ll be adding a desiccant pack.

coverslip-laser-window.jpg

As they are not AR coated, I added a little piece of wire to tilt the glass a bit off of vertical. That way back reflections hit the baseplate and are not bounced back to the LD. Everything is epoxied to the plastic box.

Dirt cheap: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

$5.15 for a lifetime supply. I figure I can use the slides for larger windows on my Lumiators, the lumia projectors I am building.

Thoughts?

…Mike

[sugeek]

Optical scanners have AR coated glass if you are willing to cut it and at thrift shops I have seen them as low as fifty cents. I was going to say something about back reflection then thought of my lumia wheels.

Nice find either way.

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[swamidog]

why is there a rhino in your scanner?

Optical scanners have AR coated glass if you are willing to cut it and at thrift shops I have seen them as low as fifty cents. I was going to say something about back reflection then though of my lumia wheels.

Nice find either way.

Scanner.view.750pix.jpg

[sugeek]

why is there a rhino in your scanner?

That is the new Saturn rhino amp!

[swamidog]

That is the new Saturn rhino amp!

*snort*

"the myth of the killer ape is true!"

[clickamouse]

No, "the myth of the killer amp is true!" (Just ask Pangolin...)

Sugeek; good find re scanner glass. I suspect that it is also not AR, at least at usable frequencies.

...Mike

[edison]

Buy an AR coated window from edmund or thorlabs of 3 inch x 3 inch and cut into 20 pieces. Then you have many square ones that can be used when you build modules and you are have a datasheet from the coating so you are 100% sure its right.