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Thread: can a pulse laser like a tattoo laser be turned into a continuous cw laser?

  1. #1
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    Default can a pulse laser like a tattoo laser be turned into a continuous cw laser?

    so instead of the power supply switching on and off, it would be on constantly. keeping the same voltages, etc.

  2. #2
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    ... depends on type and pumping methode (flash-lamp or IR-diodes) ... but will give much lower power then ...

    Viktor
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  3. #3
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    i think its a flash lamp laser pump

  4. #4
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    ... serach the exact "pumping wavelength" ... then source some laser-diodes with this wavelength (maybe with fine-adjusting the wavelength by temperature-control of the diodes) ... then place them around the "laser-rod" ins such a manor, that as much as possible of the energy is "trapped" inside of the rod or by reflecting/refocussing through mirrors can pass the rod multiple times.

    It's essentially a reengineering or redeveloping of a "diode pumped solid state laser" -- there you can find most of the infos for such a project ...

    Viktor
    Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - https://reprap.org/forum/list.php?426
    Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - https://reprap.org/forum/list.php?425

  5. #5
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    Some flashlamp-pumped YAG lasers have a CW mode where the lamp is run at a much lower power (so the output power is also low compared to pulsed operation). Also, some of those same YAG lasers have a "quasi-CW" mode where the pulse repetition rate is set to a very high value (several thousand pulses each second), so that the output beam appears to be continuous. (Assuming it's been frequency-doubled and is thus visible.) However, if you try to scan such a quasi-CW beam (as in a graphics show running at 30Kpps) you'll end up with a dashed line instead of a continuous one.

    As Viktor mentioned, it all depends on the design of the particular laser. And if a certain pulsed laser was not designed for CW operation, then modifying it to support such a beam is likely to require a great deal of effort. It's not as simple as modifying the power supply; the entire pumping system will likely need to be upgraded. Then there are thermal concerns; can the lasing medium withstand continuous pumping without overheating? What about the life of the flashlamp?

    Usually lasers that do not support CW operation were specifically designed to exploit some advantage of pulsed operation. Trying to change such lasers to CW operation negates those benefits and will often introduce new problems and thus be more costly than simply purchasing a different laser that already supports CW operation. This is especially true with regard to medical lasers.

    Adam

  6. #6
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    Default

    Cooling requirements would be quite different too. Other components (like an absorbing Q-switch) won't like CW operation.

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