473nm Crystal Assembly $55

That is from a CNI blue labby. I've got one sitting around somewhere...

It's not as easy as the ad makes it look, you have to align the 808 very precisely and control the temperature of the whole setup with the TEC.

Prototype said:

It's not worth that much, you can buy the whole labby for $100 and shipping, and even then you'll need lenses no matter what. Those will not give that much blue unless you're damn lucky. They came from a 10mW rated laser head, the max I've seen one do is 35mW, and that was out of a batch of about seven or eight.

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And that's the one I have

Pontiacg5 said:

That is from a CNI blue labby. I've got one sitting around somewhere...

It's not as easy as the ad makes it look, you have to align the 808 very precisely and control the temperature of the whole setup with the TEC.

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What do you think of the price for it?

im not very familiar with using a TEC for cooling what does that involve exactly?

aligning the 808 I think I can handle once its properly mounted and focused in an adjustable module.

Prototype said:

It's not worth that much, you can buy the whole labby for $100 and shipping, and even then you'll need lenses no matter what. Those will not give that much blue unless you're damn lucky. They came from a 10mW rated laser head, the max I've seen one do is 35mW, and that was out of a batch of about seven or eight.

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oh really?


Where are these $100 labbies? I was thinking it was a steal...good thing I didnt jump on it

473 nm Blue Laser, DPSS, B&W Tek BWB-10-OEM - eBay (item 220660063507 end time Jan-22-11 14:47:07 PST)

That is the very same laser that crystal set came from. Removing the feedback ring (The black circle, I can't remember exactly what it's called. It's a photo diode of some sort.) on the front might bump the power up from 10mW, though the laser might be a little more unstable that way.

It's raw crystal output, remember, so if you want good divergence, you'll have to add an output couple and a final lens to the set up, otherwise the divergence is ~8mRad.

See here: http://laserpointerforums.com/f40/b-w-tek-bwb-10-oem-473nm-10mw-53423.html

and: 473 nm Blue Laser, DPSS, B&W Tek BWB-10-OEM - eBay (item 220660063507 end time Jan-22-11 14:47:07 PST)


Don't get me wrong, if the labbies weren't available, that crystal set would definitely be worth a lot more.

hmmm interesting. So could one turn up the IR in this unit to gain a bit of extra power or is it already running near max?

You can turn it up, but it probably won't do anything without pulling the photodiode off the front.

sounds like a project for another day.

I was under the impression that coherent 473nm could not be had at any mW for under several hundred dollars....I was wrong

Braddubya said:

oh really?


Where are these $100 labbies? I was thinking it was a steal...good thing I didnt jump on it

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The labbies are here: 473 nm Blue Laser, DPSS, B&W Tek BWB-10-OEM - eBay (item 220660063507 end time Jan-22-11 14:47:07 PST)

Also, I'd just like to point out that aligning the 808 is the least of your concerns here.

Because 473nm uses Nd:YAG instead of Nd:YVO4, pump wavelength is even more important than with 532nm lasers using Nd:YVO4.

This means two things:

1. Pump stability is essential. The output wavelength of a laser diode will 'walk' as temperature changes, due to thermal expansion of the die itself. The pump diode will need to be kept at it's ideal temperature, using a feedback-controlled TEC.

2. A good diode is also essential. Most '808'nm diodes aren't actually 808nm, they tend to be off by 5-10nm in most cases. With Nd:YVO4, it's not ideal, but it *is* passable. With Nd:YAG, even a 2nm shift either way will cause a massive drop in efficiency.

Once you've got your pump sorted, the cavity components will also need stabilisation.

The LBO (responsible for the SHG of 946nm to produce 473nm) needs to be kept within it's operating temperature by less than a quarter of a degree (I have no exact numbers on this). If the LBO temperature changes even slightly, your efficiency will take a massive hit, and if it varies far enough, you also risk damaging the LBO.

On top of this, you're also going to need the 808nm pump set up exactly as it was in the labby, that's how the cavity would be set up. It's no easy process.

TL;DR: Just buy the labby, and save yourself the trouble.

I bought! When I receive I'll put photos.

Thanks