ND:YAG rod

What is a YAG rod used for? Is it like the crystals in a green laser? I saw this and was wondering, not looking to buy!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Nd-Yag-laser-Ro...ryZ53141QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

You can pump the rod with a flash lamp or 808nm laser light and it lases at 1064nm

Throw a KTP in front of the beam and you get 532nm

I can be used to make a green laser, but is usually used to make high power pulsed systems for cutting metal and stuff like that.

Thats a pretty good sized rod, you could make quite a bit of power with it.

@ GooeyGus
Thanks man for changing your Avatar !!! ;D ;D ;D

GooeyGus said:

You can pump the rod with a flash lamp or 808nm laser light and it lases at 1064nm

Throw a KTP in front of the beam and you get 532nm

I can be used to make a green laser, but is usually used to make high power pulsed systems for cutting metal and stuff like that.

Thats a pretty good sized rod, you could make quite a bit of power with it.

Click to expand...

NO NO NO.

NO.

NOPE WAY, NADA, NOT GONNA HAPPEN MR JEEVES.




Now that I'm done ranting, NO. You can't just "throw" a KTP crystal in front of a YAG rod... or any other lasing medium, for that matter, and expect to get anything. The crystals, contrary to popular belief, ARE NOT MAGIC. There is some very nasty math involved that necessitates brewster angles, coatings, resonance cavities, etc etc.. meaning that you have screwed up big time if you haven't factored all those things into your setup. You CAN NOT just throw one into the beam and hope to God that it'll work. it is not possible. Don't even try. Don't even post things like that. Stoppit.  

Chad --

Thank you for the bucket of cold water here The ends of the rod must be coated and usually have an angle on them requireing allignment of the 1064 ZnSe mirrors. I've done it --- It's a PITA and that's just to get 1064.

Mike

Chad said:

[quote author=GooeyGus link=1214701774/0#1 date=1214702435]You can pump the rod with a flash lamp or 808nm laser light and it lases at 1064nm

Throw a KTP in front of the beam and you get 532nm

I can be used to make a green laser, but is usually used to make high power pulsed systems for cutting metal and stuff like that.

Thats a pretty good sized rod, you could make quite a bit of power with it.

Click to expand...

NO NO NO.

NO.



NOPE WAY, NADA, NOT GONNA HAPPEN MR JEEVES.




Now that I'm done ranting, NO. You can't just "throw" a KTP crystal in front of a YAG rod... or any other lasing medium, for that matter, and expect to get anything. The crystals, contrary to popular belief, ARE NOT MAGIC. There is some very nasty math involved that necessitates brewster angles, coatings, resonance cavities, etc etc.. meaning that you have screwed up big time if you haven't factored all those things into your setup. You CAN NOT just throw one into the beam and hope to God that it'll work. it is not possible. Don't even try. Don't even post things like that. Stoppit.  [/quote]

Chad. I realize this. I'm not going to post the exact procedure for aligning the cavity and making everything work perfectly, as he's not even buying the damn thing. Its a lot easier just to say 'throw a crystal in front of it" because when you boil it all down, that's exactly what you're doing.   :

I appreciate all your input.

If anyone wants a YAG rod, I think I have a few various sizes lying around I could sell, but as Chad and Mike say, its not as simple as shining a light on it. You need to set up a resonator cavity, which ain't really too if you happen to have a couple thousand dollar optical table and another couple thousand dollars of mounts and optics laying around, an insane degree of patience, and something to view the IR and verify your work. That would perhaps get you a setup for pulsed operation. For CW, then you have cooling concerns to add in to. So all in all - not anything less than an "expert" level type of DIY project, and though I'm not horrible I know I sure don't consider myself an expert at laser DIY.


BTW, this seller seems a bit shifty. Got negative FB for nondelivery - has Stan in his name, and the account was registered around when the scammer Stan Turecki took a break from his laserprogram account. Could just be a coincidence - his auctions aren't quite like those of laserprogram, but it gets my paranoid self a little nervous :-/

If you want to try 1064 pulsed NdYag--- I'd recommend an SSY-1 module.
Entry level but remember, it uses high voltage and has dangerous peak outputs of IR.
It took me almost a year and $1000+ to build my first NdYag 20 years ago. That is a trip

Mike