DIY Green

Ok guys After the holidays i'm planning on buying the parts to build a DIY green.
I have found the parts I want, but i'm not sure if it's all I "need"

so My plan is to use the crystal stack from
http://www.roithner-laser.com/crystals.html

it contains both the crystals(Nd:YVO4 + KTP) together already so that will help make aligning them alot easier.

now im' looking at the same company for the 808nm diode but all the 500mW ones are 9mm and I was wondering if thats going to be a problem size wise with the crystals as they measure Size: 1.3 x 1.3 x 3.5 mm³

I'd really like a 1W 808nm diode if I can snag one but at least I want 500mW

Now my end goal would be to put this inside of one of Kenoms barrels but I don't know if thats within my reach yet.

So my last 2 problems I haven't dealt with yet are
1) circuit design for the 500mW-1W diode
2) focusing the beam, I don't know if the diode + crystal in the regular Axiz housing will focus well enough or even fit.

Thoughts, ideas, has anyone already done this?

in case you didnt know green ld's are very hard to make

I don't make things because it's easy, I make them because it's fun and challenging.

Plus not many people have done it yet, maybe i'll be able to make a guide for others to try. who knows.


oh yeah and w00t 100th post yay

I don't think you can fit a crystal set and diode into an Aixiz housing, and even if it does fit, the collimator lens won't focus/collimate the beam properly. I tried using a collimator lens from a red laser housing to replace my X105's broken lens and it made the beam into a really huge blob. However, it wasn't a lens from an Aixiz housing so it might be different. And a 9mm package won't fit in an Aixiz housing unless it is specifically designed for 9mm diodes.

You might want to make sure the diode is not too powerful for the crystals. If you pump them with 1W it is likely you could cook them; not all crystals can tolerate the same amount of power (I think the bigger ones can handle higher powers...).

Also, you need an IR filter for your laser and probably IR goggles for when you are aligning it... 500mW is a lot of IR and if you don't have goggles to protect yourself you could do some really really bad damage to your eyes. I'm not sure where you can get a driver board from.

One idea:
You can get high power 808nm diodes form a seller on Ebay (snoctony)
and your own crystal set
and a cheap 5mW leadlight
then remove the crystals and LD from the leadlight
and replace it with a higher power diode and more efficient MCA and get higher output

That way, you have a housing that WILL fit, built in collimator, IR filter and Driver board.
That would be the easy (easier) way to do it.

I hope this helps... But I haven't done this before so I am just speaking from what I've learned, not experience... so don't trust me 100%. There are people here that know a lot more than I do!

READ CAREFULLY.
From that site you linked.

Technical Specifications:

Parallelism: Less then 10 arc seconds
Coatings:
Input Surface: HR-(1064/532) nm, HT-808 nm
R>99.8%@1064 nm, R>99%@532 nm, R<5%@808 nm
Output Surface: HR-1064 nm, HT-532 nm
R>99.8%@1064 nm, R<5%@532 nm
Input Wavelength: 808 nm (typ.)
Output Wavelength: 532 nm
Beam Mode: TEMoo
Clear Aperture: >80%
Output Power: 2 mW ~ 10 mW (@200 mW pump power)
Size: 1.3 x 1.3 x 3.5 mm³ (Nd:YVO4 + KTP)
Operating Temperature: 20 .. 30 °C

Click to expand...

Ahh interesting, I didn't see the output listing in the PDF (I linked the site so people wouldn't need to download the pdf) that sucks. but I still might do it with a lower power diode just to make a DIY green for fun.

And your right if I need to use a 9mm diode I was going to get a merideth module, but I was still looking for a 5.6mm IR diode with some kick.

I've also put some thought into getting a few of the 1W IR lasers and making myself a labby with some dichro's to combine the beams. but I'm not even saure you can use a dichro to combine 2 similar beams (ie 2 808nm IR beams....or 5 hehe) I would also combine it with a colored laser so it's easier to see/aim.

you would need is fullspectrum dichros just half mirrors not colour filtered dichros

its still something i'm toying with. I know the dichro owuld need to be fullspec and prolly cost me my first born. but thats why i'm tossing around ideas since some people have resources I don't, or haven't found yet.


I'm willing to spend up to 400 to get this DIY off the ground if needed. I think it would be fun and in the end it might help some other forum members that have had the same thoughts give it a go. maybe I can find a way to make it a DIY that saves us money on high powered greens. we'll see.