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I recently purchased LarryDFW's Hi-Power lens.
However, this lens is coated for ~650nm rather than 405nm and is intended for use in my newest LOC red.
I will start by mentioning that dealing with Larry is a pleasure. Transactions are smooth and he ships quickly.
I have purchased his 405nm Hi-Power assemblies and have come to expect nothing but exceptional products from him.
Here is a link to his sale thread:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f64/fs-hi-power-ar-lens-assy-25-30-inc-vs-aixiz-22493.html
Construction:
The lens is a glass aspheric with coating for high transmission at ~650nm.
It is housed in a custom machined brass lens nut threaded for the commonly used Aixiz modules. The lens nut has an open entry aperture to collect the maximum amount of light possible. The threads are smooth and well machined (by misterwilling) with tight tolerances.
Although the lens nut fits in the module tighter than an Aixiz lens nut, it still helps to add a small length of teflon tape to keep it secure.
The lens is secured in the nut with epoxy.
The thing I like most about this assembly, is that it does not require the use of a spring to keep the nut from wobbling in the module. This also prevents the metals from scraping against each other which could cause particles to fall onto the die. This is especially important when using a diode of the "open can" variety, in which the die is exposed.
The open aperture also makes the lens easy to clean. Larry recommends pure acetone, but since I do not have any on hand, I use alcohol which works very well.
In action:
Beam specs:
This lens produces beam specs comparable to that of the Aixiz glass lens.
Some differences include the beam profile. The "dot" with this lens is somewhat of a Gaussian ellipse, rather than a perfect circle with the Aixiz lens. The beam is tight, and measures about 4 x 3mm on the fast and slow axes.
Minimum divergence is on par with the Aixiz lenses and stays tight over any distance. I measured ~0.4mRad.
The spot does show some interference patterns, but this is unavoidable with reds, and I must admit I dropped the lens on the dusty carpet before I used it. Did I mention it is also very easy to clean?
There are a few artifacts in the beam, but this is inherent in laser diodes and a perfect Gaussian beam cannot be expected from direct injected diodes... yet.
For someone into scanners, this lens will be great for a red module, since the beam will be thinner and easier to combine, and the extra power will make up for some of the losses to optics.
Power:
With this Hi-power lens, my LOC laser got a healthy 17% increase in power over Aixiz glass. The measurements are 255mW with Aixiz acrylic, 265mW with Aixiz glass, and 310mW with the Hi-Power lens.
The increase in brightness is great, due to the higher power and thinner beam.
This lens makes this laser great for burning even when focus is set at infinity, something that the Aixiz glass does not allow.
To sum it all up, I love these Hi-Power lenses and would recommend them to anyone looking to get the most power out of their violet or red laser.
Below are some pictures of this lens in use:
However, this lens is coated for ~650nm rather than 405nm and is intended for use in my newest LOC red.
I will start by mentioning that dealing with Larry is a pleasure. Transactions are smooth and he ships quickly.
I have purchased his 405nm Hi-Power assemblies and have come to expect nothing but exceptional products from him.
Here is a link to his sale thread:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f64/fs-hi-power-ar-lens-assy-25-30-inc-vs-aixiz-22493.html
Construction:
The lens is a glass aspheric with coating for high transmission at ~650nm.
It is housed in a custom machined brass lens nut threaded for the commonly used Aixiz modules. The lens nut has an open entry aperture to collect the maximum amount of light possible. The threads are smooth and well machined (by misterwilling) with tight tolerances.
Although the lens nut fits in the module tighter than an Aixiz lens nut, it still helps to add a small length of teflon tape to keep it secure.
The lens is secured in the nut with epoxy.
The thing I like most about this assembly, is that it does not require the use of a spring to keep the nut from wobbling in the module. This also prevents the metals from scraping against each other which could cause particles to fall onto the die. This is especially important when using a diode of the "open can" variety, in which the die is exposed.
The open aperture also makes the lens easy to clean. Larry recommends pure acetone, but since I do not have any on hand, I use alcohol which works very well.
In action:
Beam specs:
This lens produces beam specs comparable to that of the Aixiz glass lens.
Some differences include the beam profile. The "dot" with this lens is somewhat of a Gaussian ellipse, rather than a perfect circle with the Aixiz lens. The beam is tight, and measures about 4 x 3mm on the fast and slow axes.
Minimum divergence is on par with the Aixiz lenses and stays tight over any distance. I measured ~0.4mRad.
The spot does show some interference patterns, but this is unavoidable with reds, and I must admit I dropped the lens on the dusty carpet before I used it. Did I mention it is also very easy to clean?
There are a few artifacts in the beam, but this is inherent in laser diodes and a perfect Gaussian beam cannot be expected from direct injected diodes... yet.
For someone into scanners, this lens will be great for a red module, since the beam will be thinner and easier to combine, and the extra power will make up for some of the losses to optics.
Power:
With this Hi-power lens, my LOC laser got a healthy 17% increase in power over Aixiz glass. The measurements are 255mW with Aixiz acrylic, 265mW with Aixiz glass, and 310mW with the Hi-Power lens.
The increase in brightness is great, due to the higher power and thinner beam.
This lens makes this laser great for burning even when focus is set at infinity, something that the Aixiz glass does not allow.
To sum it all up, I love these Hi-Power lenses and would recommend them to anyone looking to get the most power out of their violet or red laser.
Below are some pictures of this lens in use: