Ruby Laser questions

I have always wanted a Ruby (preferably) or YAG pumped SS laser and have seen a few rods turn up surplus now. This HIGH POWER RUBY LASER M60 TANK LASER HEAD | eBay sparked my interest the other day although its non export and about 2-3 times what I want to pay (Sam's site lists the M60 rangefinders as worth $150 to $300).

Does anyone have any experience with Ruby lasers made from a bare rod and a flash lamp?

My understanding is as long as the rod ends are polished and perfectly parallel they will lase without any AR coating or Q-Switching as long as you get the flash pulse correct? I have read of people just using a surplus rod and HR and OC mirrors from HeNe lasers.

I've seen some ruby rods on eBay, some sold as laser rods and some for gem faceting sharpening stones http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ruby-Ruby-R...016?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27cb93c690 (Thanks to flaminpyro for that one) and http://www.ebay.com/itm/Round-Rod-Ruby-Polishing-Stone-Select-from-3mm-to-10mm-/170917925042?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item27cb8090b2.

I can do the electronics myself but would like to know where to get hold of a rod and what will work!

And if anyone has an SSY1 or M60 rangefinders or bits at resonable cost then I'd be very interested

Cheers,
Andrew

AUS said:

I have always wanted a Ruby (preferably) or YAG pumped SS laser and have seen a few rods turn up surplus now. This HIGH POWER RUBY LASER M60 TANK LASER HEAD | eBay sparked my interest the other day although its non export and about 2-3 times what I want to pay (Sam's site lists the M60 rangefinders as worth $150 to $300).

Does anyone have any experience with Ruby lasers made from a bare rod and a flash lamp?

My understanding is as long as the rod ends are polished and perfectly parallel they will lase without any AR coating or Q-Switching as long as you get the flash pulse correct? I have read of people just using a surplus rod and HR and OC mirrors from HeNe lasers.

I've seen some ruby rods on eBay, some sold as laser rods and some for gem faceting sharpening stones http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ruby-Ruby-R...016?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27cb93c690 (Thanks to flaminpyro for that one) and http://www.ebay.com/itm/Round-Rod-Ruby-Polishing-Stone-Select-from-3mm-to-10mm-/170917925042?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item27cb8090b2.

I can do the electronics myself but would like to know where to get hold of a rod and what will work!

And if anyone has an SSY1 or M60 rangefinders or bits at resonable cost then I'd be very interested

Cheers,
Andrew

Click to expand...

Actually a few years ago I inquired into getting a YAG laser from a tank range finder. Problem is that the US government has an export ban on them due the their potential to be used by "enemy" nations. So, many people in the US are selling, but no shipping internationally. These rules may have changed, but I highly doubt it.
There are a few listed in Israel now and again, and they do export. Maybe you can find one there?

AUS said:

I've seen some ruby rods on eBay, some sold as laser rods and some for gem faceting sharpening stones http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ruby-Ruby-R...016?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27cb93c690 (Thanks to flaminpyro for that one) and http://www.ebay.com/itm/Round-Rod-Ruby-Polishing-Stone-Select-from-3mm-to-10mm-/170917925042?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item27cb8090b2.

Click to expand...

gem faceting sharpening stones might look suitable, but the dopant concentration is not the same as it is tailored to in a ruby laser rod. Laser rods are manufactured solely for the purpose of lasing, and dopant concentration is decreased (iirc) from the concentration found in other "ruby" gems. Not all rubys are made the same.

@ Seoul_lasers
I might have a look at some Israeli sites as you suggest.
Unfortunately its unlikely anything will turn up here - the Australian army only has 59 tanks total (second hand refurbished US Abrams M1A1's). Before that they used Leopard 1's (without the laser rangefinders). Silly, the US won't export this stuff its far from state of the art.

@ Meatball
You mentioned that before but from what I'm reading it looks like ruby is ruby and isn't doped with anything like the YAG ones are, although I could be wrong?

There are plenty of YAG rods on eBay but I would prefer a visible death ray

There are a few YAG heads on eBay like this one Lumenis IR High Power Water Cooled Laser Head Cavity+ CTH:YAG ROD AA2975800 | eBay but I could only find the one ruby rod that was designed to lase.

Ruby has chromium, (lab or natural) Cr is the "dopant" , in a gem, there is more of it and that is less ideal for a laser rod in general. -GH

AUS said:

@ Seoul_lasers
I might have a look at some Israeli sites as you suggest.
Unfortunately its unlikely anything will turn up here - the Australian army only has 59 tanks total (second hand refurbished US Abrams M1A1's). Before that they used Leopard 1's (without the laser rangefinders). Silly, the US won't export this stuff its far from state of the art.

@ Meatball
You mentioned that before but from what I'm reading it looks like ruby is ruby and isn't doped with anything like the YAG ones are, although I could be wrong?

There are plenty of YAG rods on eBay but I would prefer a visible death ray

Click to expand...

A cosmetic ruby has many more dopant particles which make them a deeper- more brilliant red. Laser ruby rods have less dopant and are a lighter pinkish hue.

See these reads: Sam's Laser FAQ - Solid State Lasers
Sam's Laser FAQ - Solid State Lasers

Basically, anything "used" from ebay can be as much of a gamble as any other used laser. The rods could be scratched, lamps burnt, mirrors damaged, rod cracked or chipped. The unit "heads" might have been "pulled from a working environment", but they were obviously removed for a reason. Maybe they were "lasing" previously, but not lasing well anymore.

Best to look for new old stock rods, and mount it a YAG pump chamber that has room for the flashlamp.

If you can, I would recommend using mirrors anyways since your gain will greatly increase apart from using faceted/polished rod ends. HeNe OC and HR optics are certainly usable for this purpose, but you would have to experiment to find the best results. (oh no! Not science!) :shhh:

Nowdays, the setups have to be just about as experimental as they were back when they were first invented. These lasers are not commercially produced in large quantities anywhere. You might get lucky and find a tattoo removal machine on the web, but new old stock from a surplus supplier will most likely be your best bet. (Most tattoo units are Nd:YAG anymore)

Read the faq through and through if you really want to get something going. I would also message Sam and let him know you're looking for one. He may know who has a supply of $250 rods. You never know.

Thanks Meetball & Scopeguy, I actually read that FAQ on Sam's site but missed the but about doping and Cr content. My dad used to facet gems and I remember him saying that rubies, sapphires and corundum were all Al2O3 and the only difference was impurities.

I have found a couple of places on the web selling rods (Laser Sources Ltd - surplus laser and laser related optics. Laser rods, laser diodes, lenses, mirrors, harmonic crystals, rotators, waveplates, polarizers and Laser Crystal Ruby) but surplus stuff is rare I think.

Yes I'll put a feeler out on Sam's site and see what I can find. Thanks guys!

There is a company in Victoria BC that grows laser crystals for Industry. I know that's a strange place place to have one. They also can and do produce Rubies, and laser rods.
Silian Sapphire
I met their head tech at a gun show last year Sept. I nearly bought some Sapphire rods from him.