638nm vs 637nm (single mode vs multimode)

[andy_con]

6 single mode diodes making a beam of just 3mm by 3mm @ 1mR if not less

a corrected multi mode red giving a 5mm by 5mm beam @ 1.2-5mR

you may not notice with the eye but you do with a ruler

[Bradfo69]

I've not had a bride pull out a ruler. (gets ready for snarky Brit humor)

[Humphry]

Thanks guys, your opinions are really appreciated.

So as a generalisation: 2.5W multimode is going to look brighter than 1.5W of single mode, assuming build quality is good on both sides? And taking things a step further, the difference between 2.5W multimode and 2.5W single mode would be negligible so much that it would take a trained eye to spot the difference? (IE: no audience member would notice)

[andy_con]

probably yes .

[flecom]

if you were to see a quality single module red module, RGBlasersystems or arctos for example there is a real difference from multi mode

single mode offers a much more dense beam

and keeping all that stuff aligned is painfully difficult.. even for people like KVant, as you can see from my 642 kvant module

[flecom]

I'm sort of interested in the replies to this as well. I see a huge difference in price on raw modules between 637 and 638 and wondered how much of a difference is there really.

Take for example 3w of 637 here: http://goldenstarlaser.com/index.php...product_id=207 for $5000 versus

3w of 638 here: http://goldenstarlaser.com/index.php...product_id=243 for $1,200.

Is 637 really $3,800 "better"?

this caught my attention

http://goldenstarlaser.com/index.php...ice&order=DESC

5W of red for $3k? I think that might just be enough red for me to finally be happy... combined with the 2W of 650 would bring me to 7W of red...

[andy_con]

keeping diodes aligned is always a problem and everyone has this problem, kvant arctos rgb

[swamidog]

and keeping all that stuff aligned is painfully difficult.. even for people like KVant, as you can see from my 642 kvant module

my kvant module stayed aligned... but half the diodes blew.

[Humphry]

Andy thanks, your opinion is highly valued. I feel like the primary question has been answered. I hope to have some comparison pictures down the line for you guys.

Flecom, that red looks like an alignment nightmare . Just a word on that module, the beam is 6.5mm which would be lost off the sides of conventional 7mm mirrors I am not mistaken? And at 2mrad, this is the kind of divergence where I predict it would become noticeable. My gut would point me toward a well-built quad with 5x5mm at 1.2mrad, but I have little experience with this trade off. Thoughts?

[catalanjo]

Hey Swami...

Who arranged the cooling ?

Cheers
PS @ Humphry ...if you are looking for tight beam multimode .....have you checked out this thread "http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/showthread.php/24405-8W-RGB-and-New-Modules-New-Company-AtenLaser"