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Thread: Collimating high power visible diodes

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
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    Default Collimating high power visible diodes

    Hi guys

    What is needed to get a good collimation (for show use) from one of the relatively cheap high power multimode laser diodes that are available ?

    Is this a matter of a couple of well chosen lenses, or is something more complicated needed?

    Is there anything commercially available?

    I am primarily thinking about the Nichia 500mW/1W 450nm diodes, and the 500mW 635nM / 1W 650nM TO3 diodes commonly available..

    Also, is it possible to combine 635 and 650nm with a dicro, or are these wavelengths too close ?

    Thanks in advance !

    Regards, Simon

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
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    Default

    I'll answer the last question first because I know the answer. Yes you can combined 635 and 650. Actually I already done this. The only problem is getting high quality dichro which will cost you. It's about 200$.

    First question is as old as laser diodes themselves. Once you cross 200mw mark beam start to get worst and worst. If the diode makes an oval shape beam then you can compress it which 2 prisms. If it makes square beam then all you can do is to use a telescope. Strait it will act like a collimator (means exit beam will be very very fat and will not fit on galvos but will give you a very nice beam @ focus). Or you can do reverse telescope which will give you a nice beam at the exit but fat beam @ focus. Getting as big galvos as possible (6mm or 8mm) and playing with telescope can get you OK beam. But it'll not be as good as for example 671.
    I hired an Italian guy to do my wires. Now they look like spaghetti!

  3. #3
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    Melbourne, Australia
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    Quote Originally Posted by Showlaser.dk View Post
    Hi guys

    What is needed to get a good collimation (for show use) from one of the relatively cheap high power multimode laser diodes that are available ?

    Is this a matter of a couple of well chosen lenses, or is something more complicated needed?

    Is there anything commercially available?

    I am primarily thinking about the Nichia 500mW/1W 450nm diodes, and the 500mW 635nM / 1W 650nM TO3 diodes commonly available..

    Also, is it possible to combine 635 and 650nm with a dicro, or are these wavelengths too close ?

    Thanks in advance !

    Regards, Simon
    Cant answer the TO3 question, but the Nichias are easy to colimate with a simple aspheric lens
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  4. #4
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    Sep 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by dave View Post
    Cant answer the TO3 question, but the Nichias are easy to colimate with a simple aspheric lens

    Okay, thanks for the answers !
    Do you know what properties the aspheric lens should have to work the best ?

    The TO3 diodes i was looking at, is these:
    http://www.roithner-laser.com/All_Da...35-500-TO3.pdf
    http://www.roithner-laser.com/All_Da...650-1000-T.pdf
    Not too expensive, about 400 euros a pop, but not so much fun if they can not be collimated to a good lightshow quality beam without a lot of hazzle..
    My plan was to buy two of each, and then combine each wavelength with a PBS cube, and then combine the two wavelengths with a Dicro, to get 3W of good semi-deep red. -but if i need to align several optics for each diode and do a lot of work finding the right optics (getting wrong optics the first few times around, costing a lot etc.) i dont think it is worth it.
    -would be a fun project though..

    Thanks !

    Regards, Simon

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