The Basics

Hey guys,
I am new here and have been interested in light
and lasers in particular for a while now.

It's great to have a community that is also
interested and passionate about this topic.

It would be great if someone or a group of you guys
could just teach me the basics of making lasers
(the components, the math & science, scientific laws etc)

I don't really know anything but am really eager to learn.

Thanks,
Matt

Use the google bar below. You will be able to find all you need

Welcome!

-Alex

I enjoy seeing new people taking interest in lasers. This is the best community to be a part of when passionate about something like this. Building lasers is as simple as connecting a diode to a driver and a power supply to the driver. You can also buy laser modules, which are normally a diode and the driver already connected. There are mainly 3 colors: Red (650nm), Green (532nm), and Violet (405nm). Generally, other colors are more expensive and harder to produce. If you don't care about color, you could go for IR (InfraRed). This is another cheap option, however, it's not visible and usually meant for burning. Then there's output. The higher the output, the brighter and hotter the laser is. 50mw should be enough to burn and mid-spectrum colors like green are very visible. I could ramble on about much more, but it would only be a waste of time as it's already on these forums, just explore!

IMPORTANT!!! BUY A PAIR OF GLASSES WHEN DEALING WITH >5MW LASERS!! MY REP IS AT 0 BECAUSE I SAID I DIDN'T WEAR GLASSES AND POINTED IT AT MY EYES

Yes, laser safety glasses that attenuate the wavelength of light that you are working with are the 1st thing you need, be aware that dpss Diode Pumped Solid State lasers such as your typical 532nm laser use an IR pump diode that is usually around 500% as powerful as your green/532 output, so there is waste heat and can also be leakage of invisible IR light that you can't see but still reaches your retina, so if you plan to use a laser for wood burning or up close work it is better to use a direct diode laser that won't have the IR leakage risk, but with the appropriate safety glasses of course.

You can use the LPF search bar up top and find many answers to your laser related questions, be safe and enjoy.

Good thing to start understanding the hobby is that there are many types of lasers.
Gas lasers, dpss lasers, diode lasers and many more.

I think it's safe to say that all laser systems are delicate and should be treated with care. You don't want to over power them and regulating temperature is ideal.

So whatever you work on make sure you did it right

Also as time goes on you'll familiarize yourself with common parts and where to get them. Lasers require driver circuits which keeps the power to the laser at the power you want it set to and keep it there. They can also have other protections such as reverse polarity from your power source as well as heat protection. All of this keeps your diode in good condition.

Go to member "Gozert" sight and look at his guide to begginers its been the latest update. Read all the threads you can and you will be surprised how much you will absorb.