ND YAG Breakdown Video

Interestingly soft spoken chap showing the innerds of a high power ND YAG while explaining how it works:

Nice informative video, thanks for sharing

Wish there was a ~800nm YAG, I guess it doesn't exist.

Maybe a new doping will come available in the future.

Ahh yes, Photonicinduction, great channel! He has an argon laser (ALC60) meltdown video too (and loads of other cool videos!). Pretty sure it was someone over on PL that sold him that YAG.

That's photonicinduction, I've been watching him a long time, check out his yt channel, he loves to break stuff. :eg:

Watch his trailer Below

>>>>> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl9OJE9OpXui-gRsnWjSrlA

He seems to be a very techno-scrappy fellow, thank you for the link. Yea, I guess 800nm YAG's or close to that wavelength aren't going to happen, if they haven't already been made. Maybe there isn't a need for them when we have 1064nm. Suppose a frequency doubled YAG at a longer wavelength landing at near 800nm might be more likely, I will keep searching, maybe one exists. I just want high peak pulsed power which lands in the shorter wavelength end of the Near-IR spectrum, shorter than 1um.

I had the exact same YAG laser , unfortunately it suffered a lamp failure .


Did get a 80W run from it though .

0011 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

DashApple said:

I had the exact same YAG laser , unfortunately it suffered a lamp failure .


Did get a 80W run from it though .

0011 by TwirlyWhirly555, on Flickr

Click to expand...

Yeah! Thought you had the same one! Was it just the lamp that failed or did it take out the YAG/Pump Chamber too?

diachi said:

Yeah! Thought you had the same one! Was it just the lamp that failed or did it take out the YAG/Pump Chamber too?

Click to expand...

Just the lamp failed , chamber and yag rod was in perfect condition when i sold the head , I still have the PSU and radiator though

Just saw this thread. I've watched this guy from time to time. He does come up with some new information for me occasionally. Thanks for sharing this, Alaskan. I can't rep you yet, but will get to you ASAP.

Paul, please let me know how you are doing when you are feeling better and back online.

Folks, I found this photo of a Continuum ND:YAG (NY81-10) which was listed on ebay and trying to understand what the unit was doing. I tried to find something about it online, but so far no joy. In the below photo, it appears the output of the front most YAG in the photo was feeding into another YAG, after a couple of turning mirrors. Might this be a seed driven setup? I believe this was 1064nm which may have been pumping a NL crystal for VIS 532nm green or UV output, not sure, many of the parts are missing including the Pockel cell to the left of the first YAG where you can see the HV driver leads hanging.



If no one has an idea, I will try contacting Continuum but thought I'd try here first.

Edit: Learned this since the post; Was a 1064nm to 532nm SHG pulsed laser at one time, but I don't understand why the two YAG's yet. Perhaps for wavelength stability? The SHG and perhaps THG section long gone, robbed from the box for something else. Both YAG's show electrical wiring to flash tubes, so both were flashed, but one feeding into the other one, why? Is it possible to feed one YAG's output through another YAG to increase total power, that reason alone is why?

Here is a photo of a Continuum laser very similar to this one I found on Wikipedia



Late Edit:

I think I understand what is going on with the two YAG configuration now, one YAG is an oscillator, the second the amplifier, see the screen shot below:

Alaskan said:

Wish there was a ~800nm YAG, I guess it doesn't exist.

Click to expand...

Get a ti:sapph

RedCowboy said:

That's photonicinduction, I've been watching him a long time, check out his yt channel, he loves to break stuff. :eg:

Watch his trailer Below

>>>>> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl9OJE9OpXui-gRsnWjSrlA

Click to expand...

Yes he does. Especially as I love his Arc light videos. I love xenon arc lamps.

Alaskan said:

Paul, please let me know how you are doing when you are feeling better and back online.

Folks, I found this photo of a Continuum ND:YAG (NY81-10) which was listed on ebay and trying to understand what the unit was doing. I tried to find something about it online, but so far no joy. In the below photo, it appears the output of the front most YAG in the photo was feeding into another YAG, after a couple of turning mirrors. Might this be a seed driven setup? I believe this was 1064nm which may have been pumping a NL crystal for VIS 532nm green or UV output, not sure, many of the parts are missing including the Pockel cell to the left of the first YAG where you can see the HV driver leads hanging.

If no one has an idea, I will try contacting Continuum but thought I'd try here first.

Edit: Learned this since the post; Was a 1064nm to 532nm SHG pulsed laser at one time, but I don't understand why the two YAG's yet. Perhaps for wavelength stability? The SHG and perhaps THG section long gone, robbed from the box for something else. Both YAG's show electrical wiring to flash tubes, so both were flashed, but one feeding into the other one, why? Is it possible to feed one YAG's output through another YAG to increase total power, that reason alone is why?

Here is a photo of a Continuum laser very similar to this one I found on Wikipedia

Late Edit:

I think I understand what is going on with the two YAG configuration now, one YAG is an oscillator, the second the amplifier, see the screen shot below:

Click to expand...

Yes. You can actually do this with the helium neon laser too. Actually done this with my Spectra-Physics 127 and my 120. Take the mirrors out of the 120, then run the 127 beam through it. Then turn on the 120. The power will go up a mW or two generally, despite the tube having no mirrors, as the beam passing through it'll create a limited amount of stimulated emission on its own and make the tube work as an amplifier.

Same thing can happen here as long is the delay between the two sides is accurate, creating a kind of cascade effect.

Alaskan, what would the use of an ~800nm YAG laser be?

UK, I'd like a Ti;Sapphire if I could find one surplus at the prices I can find for ND:YAG's. I recently came across the information the Sapphire rods can tune to 800nm, even shorter wavelengths into the red, but looking on ebay for rods, wow..... the few listed are $$$.

I just watched a MIT video showing how a gas laser can amplify, very cool. One of the things I'd like to know is the difference between an oscillator and an amplifier YAG, if they don't have mirrors built into them. Another thing I am trying to research is the amount of flash input power vs output for different diameters and length rods. Can't find a list showing some general rules of thumb yet.

Why? I am wondering if I find a big old surplus YAG and cavity with flash tubes if I can pulse the unit with far less flash tube power and then not need the huge liquid cooling system. This would just be for a few flashes, or if the YAG is able to take many flashes at relatively low intensity for what the unit was designed for when water cooled. I saw Styro had a video where a friend brought a YAG laser to his place and they were flashing it a few times without cooling.

Crazy, 800nm is easier to pick up on a camera, even with the IR filter removed 1064nm is probably only 1% the intensity to CCD cameras. I would love to take some photographs of the output of a YAG where a camera could really see the beam well.

yeah. Ti:sapphs are expensive. last setup I saw was a good quarter mil. at least. filled a whole countertop. used a coherent Verdi as the pump, was 10 or 15W IIRC. crazy amounts of green...

You can probably underpump a YAG fairly easily, as they dissipate heat alot better than ruby does, and have a far lower threshold. but realistically its not worth it generally speaking. though I have seen people use a camera flash and a small yag to make a kind of mini yag laser. lots of possibilities if you get creative, though with those big 40W coherent diode bars, they're far more realistic and affordable and energy efficient. flash pumping is kind of a thing of the past now except in special circumstances. lamps are expensive and don't last long too.